I Didn't Want The End To Come
by Addie W
Summary: Bella's life, which had been much happier since her change, is about to take a turn for the worst, and there's nothing Bella can do about the impending end. &I didn’t want the end to come. But come it has, and I’m not afraid.& [Sequel to Moving On]
1. Preface

I never thought that I would die this way. I never thought that my entire family would die before me, and that I would be the last one alive. I never thought that we would face an enemy so strong.

I never thought I'd actually die.

I mean, I'm a vampire, and though I'm technically dead anyway, I never thought that I would cease to exist. But that's what was happening. I was going to die, and no one could save me, because anyone who cared about me was already dead.

But despite the fact that I was going to die, I was calm. I didn't care that I was going to die. After all, everyone in my family was dead. Edward had died trying to save me. Everyone else had been killed in various ways. There was nothing left in this life for me to live for. I was actually almost grateful that I was getting killed. Life isn't worth living without my Greek god and our family by my side.

I stared into the black eyes of my killer calmly, welcoming the end. When he saw I wasn't going to fight, he snarled, and then lunged.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain, and then the end. I just hoped it would be quick.

I didn't want the end to come. But come it has, and I'm not afraid.


	2. Moving Day

A/N: Ta da! Here's the sequel to Moving On! I hope it's as good as its prequel... or better... I'm not picky. :D

Disclaimer: I'm only going to do this once, just so you know. If you're reading my story, you'll most likely be reading this chapter, and if you read this chapter you will know that I do not own Twilight or New Moon. Both of these lovely and addicting books belong to Stephenie Meyer. Kudos to her for being so amazing.

_**WARNING: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ MY STORY, "MOVING ON" AND YOU ARE READING THIS, YOU WILL IMMEDIATELY FIND A SPOILER. IF YOU WANT TO READ "MOVING ON," I SUGGEST DOING SO NOW!**_ OK, so now that I might have caught your attention, I shall explain. "Moving On" is not a typical Twilight fan fiction. There are a few characters (well, one for sure) that do not act like they normally do in other fan fictions. If you decide to read this story and you do not want to read my other story (I don't blame you, it's 41 chapters) then good luck to you. It isn't impossible to figure out who's different, and it shouldn't be too confusing, but reading the other story will clear things up a bit.

OK, so I've covered the disclaimer, the warning about spoilers... I think that's all I needed to remember. So on with the first chapter of "I Didn't Want The End To Come!"

* * *

"Bella!" Victoria called angrily from her room.

"What?" I snapped from my room.

"Where did you put my computer?"

"I didn't touch your computer!" I yelled back. "I don't want to die!"

"Very funny," Victoria said, suddenly appearing in my doorway. I glared at her.

"I didn't touch it," I said.

"I'm sure you didn't," Victoria said sarcastically. "Your smell is simply all over my room for no reason, and the only thing missing is my computer."

"I went in your room to drop off your clean laundry," I informed her, "and didn't touch your computer. But be sure to ask Emmett where he put his newest juggling prop, I'm sure you'll find it very entertaining."

"He didn't," Victoria hissed, her eyes narrowing. "Are you serious?"

"I told you, I didn't touch it," I repeated. Victoria was gone half a second later, and I heard Rosalie and Emmett's door crash open.

"What did you do with it?" Victoria demanded. I heard Emmett whimper.

Ah, moving day. Carlisle told us that we were all moving to Alaska, even Edward and me, and that we were all going to go back to high school.

I just finished college and already I get to go back to high school. Oh Joy.

As if it wasn't bad enough the first time.

At any rate, we were all packing, and it had been a stressful day.

Edward and Carlisle were busy fueling up all the cars for the drive. Edward got to do it because he was already packed.

Stupid mind-reading vampire. He knew what was happening ahead of time.

I heard a crash from somewhere in the house, and an enraged shout from Victoria.

"If you broke my notebook I'm going to break you!!" she shouted.

"Children," Esme warned from the kitchen. Victoria, having been adopted into our coven, automatically became one of Esme's children.

"He took my computer, and I want it back!" Victoria protested.

"Emmett, give her the computer," Esme ordered.

"I was only trying to play a joke on her," Emmett defended himself. "I didn't think she'd get this upset."

"Well I did, so give it back!" Victoria snapped.

"Don't make me use my gift to help you two," Jasper warned from the living room. I was really enjoying these across the house conversations.

"Just do it," I heard Alice sigh from her and Jasper's room. "You won't like the way it ends up if you don't."

A wave of calm spread throughout the house, accompanied by a sigh of annoyance from Jasper. I smiled at the new calm; I had been a little stressed myself. All the stress and short-tempered vampires in the house had to be annoying for Jasper.

"Here it is, just take it," Emmett said. I heard Victoria running back to her room without even bothering to say thank you.

"Thank you, Jasper," I called.

"Anytime, Bella," he called back.

I threw the rest of the contents of my closet in the box I was trying to fill and snapped the lid on. I scanned the room to make sure it was empty, pausing to pick up three of Edward's CDs that had somehow made their way under the bed, and then pushed all the boxes out in the hallway.

"I'm done!" I called.

"Come help me, then," Alice called.

I sighed, but went to help. A second later I was standing in her room.

"What can I do?" I asked.

"Help me with these clothes," Alice answered from the walk-in closet. I went in to find her folding all the clothes at vampire speed. The clothes were just blurs of color as they came off the hanger, got folded, and then were thrown into a box.

"You have too many clothes," I teased her as I joined in, making the blur of clothes twice as colorful. "I do too. You bought me too many."

"You can never have too many clothes," Alice sighed, exasperated. "We live forever, Bella. We keep everything so that when the styles rotate again we already have some stuff to wear."

"And then you go out and buy new stuff anyway," I added with a sly grin.

"Of course," Alice answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world and I was exceptionally slow.

Sometimes I just don't understand Alice.

But I'm getting better. Ever since I had become a vampire I'd enjoyed shopping a lot more. There's something to be said for knowing that you look good, no matter what you wear. It does tend to make a girl a little more willing to spend her practically infinite resources when she finds a shirt that she really likes.

By this time we were done, and Alice snapped the lid on her box too. We went back out in her room.

"What's left?" I asked.

"I think I'm done," Alice answered.

"I'm ready!" Victoria called.

"I am too!" Rose added.

"Come help pack up the living room, then," Esme commanded. We all joined her instantly. "The moving truck should be here soon, and then we can pack everything in that."

"Did we hire movers?" Jasper asked, making a face.

"No," Esme answered with a smile. "We rented a truck, and we have to decide who is going to drive it."

I could tell instantly that we all hoped it wouldn't be one of us. We all loved to drive fast, and a moving truck just isn't quite as fast as we would like.

"Good," Alice said brightly. "That means that Bella can help us pack the truck, then."

I glared at her.

She grinned back.

"I hate you," I muttered.

"It's for the family, Bella," Alice taunted me. "Come on, it's not that bad. Edward will catch you once you're done."

"I'll have to go hunting before we leave, then," I said. "You know that moving that much stuff will make me weak."

"You'll be fine," Victoria informed me. "It will make it easier for everyone, and then you even get to be in lover boy's arms while you're recovering. What more could you want?"

I stuck my tongue out at her and then moved across the living room to start packing all the video games. I chose to ignore everyone for the time being.

You're probably wondering what the heck Alice was talking about. No, she didn't want me to carry all the boxes out on my own. She wanted me to use my gift.

I have an odd gift. Not that being able to see the future or read minds or control emotions or confuse whoever you want to aren't odd gifts. But mine is really odd, or at least the reasoning of why we think I have it is.

I was a trouble magnet when I was a human. If there was anything even remotely dangerous, it found me.

As a vampire, I can call things to me. I can make objects, people, vampires, or even weather come to me. Thankfully they aren't all dangerous, though I suppose if you think about it anything could technically be dangerous. So maybe that's why my gift works on everything.

Sometimes I can control my gift. I can make things come, or make them stay put.

But if I lose concentration, that's when it gets fun. Things come flying at me if I forget to control my gift.

The first time I got "distracted" with Edward was a fun evening indeed.

Let's just say that all of the objects in our room ended up on the bed with us.

Carlisle thinks that if I practice enough that I may be able to send things away, too.

I'm not so sure about that theory. I never sent things away from me as a human.

But at any rate, Alice wants me to stand in the truck and call all the boxes and furniture to me. It takes a lot of energy and concentration to control my gift with that precision. Usually things just fly at me and keep going until they hit me, but I can tell things where to stop if I really, really concentrate.

And then I collapse once I'm done moving more than just a few small objects at a time. It's not fun. It takes me a good hour or two to recover enough to be able to go hunting. And hunting is a must, because if I don't hunt shortly after I recover, then I get weak again within a few hours.

My gift is both a blessing and a curse.

But it is my gift, nonetheless. And I knew I would end up using it.

Darn persuasive vampires.

I heard an unfamiliar vehicle, a moving truck, from the sound of the clanking and hollow banging, coming down the driveway. I looked at Esme questioningly.

"Either Edward or Carlisle will be driving it," she said. We heard another car, Rosalie's BMW from the sound of the engine, following the truck. I ran out the door to go greet my husband.

As soon as he was out of the BMW I was in his arms. He spun me around once and gave me a kiss once he set me down.

"Are you done packing?" he questioned as we walked back to the house.

"I am," I answered. "I found three of your CDs under our bed, though."

"That's probably your fault," Edward teased me. If I could blush, I would have.

"Probably," I agreed. I ducked my head in embarrassment.

"But I love you anyway," Edward said, and kissed the top of my head.

"Edward, you need to convince Bella that she needs to pack the truck," Alice informed him as we walked in the door.

"If she doesn't want to do it then I'm not going to try to make her," Edward said. "I know how weak she becomes after she's done."

"Ed-ward," Alice whined. "It will be easier on everybody except her, but then she'll get to spend two hours in your arms while she's recovering. What's wrong with that?"

"The part about it being easier for everyone but her," Edward answered as he pulled me closer. "Do you think Jasper would like to eliminate the work for everyone else if it was at your expense?"

"If it gave me a good excuse to hold her for two hours, sure," Jasper answered.

Edward sighed and turned to me. "Bella?"

"I'll do it," I sighed. "But you guys can't leave until I've hunted."

"How about if we leave and you can recover on the road, and then stop to hunt once you're better?" Alice asked.

"But then Edward can't hold me because he'll be driving," I protested.

"I can drive," Victoria offered. "I can drive his Volvo, and you two can sit in the back seat. Emmett's taking his jeep and Rosalie's gong with him, Jasper's driving Rosalie's car and Alice is going with him, and Carlisle and Esme are going in his car. That leaves me to go with somebody, so I can drive the Volvo while you two are hanging out in the back seat."

"I guess that's okay," I said uncertainly.

"It will be fine," Edward assured me. He kissed the top of my head.

"But who's driving the moving truck?" I asked, suddenly remembering it.

"We have to draw straws," Carlisle said. "We'll leave you and Edward out so that we can leave immediately."

"Then I'm going to go hunting really quickly," I said, "so that I don't run out of energy halfway through the packing process."

"I'll stay here to help finish packing the living room," Edward offered. I gave him a kiss and then ran out the door.

"Edward gets to hold the straws since he can't take part in the drawing," I heard Alice say as I was running out into the woods. I didn't hear anything after that because I was too far away.

* * *

As I drank from some deer which were relatively close to the house, I smelled something that I didn't exactly recognize but that I knew what it was.

My every instinct told me to run back to the house and get someone to go with me, or to not go at all, but my mind told me to go; it wouldn't be that bad.

I ran as fast as I could towards the smell. The smell which smelled bad, in a way, but that also smelled familiar and safe.

That smell was Jacob.

I slowed as I neared the boundary between the Cullen's land and the reservation. I ran alongside the line until I found the clearing where the smell was coming from.

"Hello, Bella," Jake said as I approached, though his back was to me. I hadn't seen him since before my change, so I don't know how he knew it was me, but perhaps I still smelled close to how I smelled before.

"Jake," I greeted him warily. "How are you?"

"You're leaving, aren't you?" Jake asked, ignoring my question.

"We are," I answered.

"How long will you be gone?" he asked passively, as if it didn't matter.

"I don't know," I answered.

"Will I ever see you again?" I could hear the hurt in his voice on this question, and I longed to go hug him. I couldn't, though, because that was beyond the boundary.

"I don't know," I answered with a grimace. "We might come to visit Charlie every so often, at least for a few years. But I'll have to stop visiting once he realizes that I never age. After that we'll have to stay away until we're sure that no one remembers us."

"Hunting one last time in your old home?" Jake asked bitterly. He still hadn't looked at me once. "For sentimental reasons, I suppose, since you don't crave human blood and it isn't a problem for you."

"Yeah," I answered, not wanting to argue with his idea that it was only for sentimental reasons. "I'll miss you, Jake. I already do."

He laughed a cold, hard, bitter laugh and finally turned to look at me with a hard look in his eye. "You miss me?" he asked skeptically. "If you miss me, then you wouldn't be with the other bloodsuckers. If you miss me then you would not have chosen to become one of them. So don't tell me that you miss me. I already know that you don't."

"Jake," I protested as I took a step closer to go comfort him, "You know me better than that. You know that I didn't really have much of a choice."

"And you know that I'm bound by the treaty to kill you if you step over that line," Jake reminded me, and I stepped back to be safe. "But you know, even if you did have a choice, you would have chosen him. You did that when you went to Italy. So don't give me that…" and he said a few very inappropriate words that shocked me, along with a few others in there to help his shocking words along. I was rather displeased, but said nothing. I only looked at him sadly.

"Go home, Bella," Jake spat. "Go home so you can leave with your new family."

He started to walk away, and I couldn't follow.

"Jake, no," I moaned, but it was too late. I'd already heard him morph into a wolf and he was gone.

I sat in the clearing, leaning on a tree, for a long time. I stared after where I had seen Jake last, hoping my some miracle that he would reappear. But he didn't, and I knew that I had to return home sometime. So I struggled to my feet and ran the entire way, wishing I could cry so that I could release some of the emotions that were raging inside me. But I couldn't, and that just made me want to scream.

I heard some enraged cries that weren't from me a few miles from home.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Emmett wailed. "I WANTED TO DRIVE THE JEEP!!!!!!!"

Emmett obviously lost the straw draw.

"I'm back," I called as I walked in the door.

"Where have you been?" Edward asked suspiciously, sniffing the air.

"I ran into Jake," I answered. "He wanted to see if we were really leaving and if we were ever coming back."

"Are you okay, Bella?" Alice asked worriedly, seeing the depressed look on my face.

"I will be," I answered softly.

"Go take a shower, and then we're ready to go," Edward told me, giving me a kiss and a sad half-smile. He, too, seemed to sense my distress, and I could tell that he was trying to cheer me up a little.

"What, do I stink too bad?" I asked, making a pathetic attempt at a joke.

"You were a little messy today," Edward corrected me, motioning towards my blood-stained shirt. "But it would be nice for you to not smell like the werewolves, yes."

"I'll only be a few minutes," I promised. I ran up the stairs and grabbed an outfit from my boxes in the hallway before continuing into my bathroom. Someone, I assumed Alice, had set travel versions of my favorite soap, shampoo, and conditioner on the counter and there was a towel hanging on the doorknob.

One ten minute shower and a quick wet ponytail later I was back downstairs.

"I'm ready," I sighed.

"Let's go out there," Edward said. He took my hand and pulled me out the door.

He didn't stop pulling until we were in the back of the open truck.

"Whenever you're ready," Edward told me. He wrapped his arms around my waist from behind. I leaned on him and started.

A few minutes later the entire contents of the house were settled in an organized fashion in the back of the truck. I collapsed into Edward's arms and closed my eyes, unable to sleep but too weak to keep my eyes open.

"Just rest," Edward whispered in my ear as he jumped out of the truck with me in his arms. "We'll be in our new home in no time."


	3. Writing On The Wall

I rested in Edward's arms for several hours until I was strong enough to sit up. I then sat on his lap and leaned on him until I felt strong enough to hunt. By this time we were almost to the Canadian boarder.

"I need to hunt soon," I told him softly.

"I'll call the others," Edward said. He kissed the back of my head and then pulled out his cell phone.

"She's ready," he said when Carlisle picked up. He hung up a second later.

"What did he say?" I asked groggily. I tried lifting my head, but found it took too much energy, so I set it back down on Edward's shoulder again.

"He's going to pull over next to the woods that are up ahead, and since he's in front everyone else will know to pull over too," Edward answered. He pulled my hair back and kissed my neck. "We'll pull over soon."

"Good," I answered. I closed my eyes again, wishing once again for sleep, but knowing that my wish could never come true.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Victoria asked skeptically from the driver's seat. I opened my eyes to see her looking at me worriedly in the rearview mirror.

I gave her a weak smile. "I'm as ready as I'll be today. I can tell when my energy is at its peak, and right now is it."

"Why are you so exhausted this time?" Victoria asked.

"I just moved the entire contents of a house in a few minutes," I laughed. "That takes a little more energy than I'm used to."

"I suppose that would be a little exhausting," Victoria agreed regally with a straight face. I stuck my tongue out at her, and then she grinned.

"Carlisle's pulling over," Edward commented. I tried to move off of his lap, but he held me close for another few seconds before allowing me to get up.

"I'll come with you," he announced.

"I think I will, too," Victoria said.

"We're too close to humans," Edward disagreed. "We don't want you to lose control so close to the population."

"I suppose not," Victoria agreed as she put the car in park. "I'll wait until we're in Alaska, then."

"Let's go," I urged Edward.

"Lead the way," Edward instructed me. I waited until we were in the woods and out of sight from the road to start running.

I didn't run as fast as I usually did. I didn't need to. I was calling all the wildlife in the area towards me, and in order to catch them I hardly needed more speed than a human. They would come straight to me anyway.

It didn't take long for the first deer to arrive. I attacked it without a second thought. Edward took the next, and then I took the third.

When the grizzly appeared, though, I called Emmett. I knew he wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to drain a bear.

Each of my family knew what it felt like for me to summon them. When we were first experimenting with my power it really confused them. They couldn't understand why they felt this sudden urge to run in a certain direction. But as I grew more experienced, and they grew more familiar with my technique, they started to pinpoint what it felt like to be called.

So when Emmett arrived a moment later, he didn't ask questions. He grinned at me and went straight to work, playing with the grizzly a little before moving in for the kill.

By the time he was done, Edward and I were done too, so we all headed back towards the road.

"Emmett?" I asked as we ran.

"Yes, Bella?"

"If you're driving the truck, who's driving the jeep?"

"Jasper," he grumbled. "Rose took her car, and Jasper and Alice took the Jeep."

"I'm sorry," I told him.

"Aww, it's not your fault," he told me. He darted over to ruffle my hair. "It was just my luck."

"Well, I'm sorry anyway," I told him with a smile. We slowed as we neared the edge of the woods and walked back out to the road at a human pace.

"Are we ready to move on?" Carlisle asked.

"I am," I answered, "But I'm not sure about everybody else."

"We're ready," Edward answered.

"Can we go ahead of you, Emmett?" Carlisle asked. "You know the way, don't you?"

"I do," Emmett answered. "You're going to go get the house ready, aren't you?"

"It will be dust-free and spotless by the time you arrive," Esme answered proudly.

"Then you can go ahead," Emmett answered. "I'll endure the horrible clanging from the truck on my own."

"You'll be fine," Rosalie told him. She gave him a passionate kiss, and when they pulled away he smiled.

"Now I will be," he agreed. "I'll meet you guys at the house."

* * *

The driveway to our new home was over a mile long, and I had been wondering if we were just driving down a wildlife trail. The foliage lining the narrow path had grown out, and I could practically hear Rosalie wince every time a branch, or anything for that matter, brushed the cars. But we finally pulled into a large front lawn and parked all the vehicles. We walked the quarter of a mile across the lawn to get to the house. 

"Oh, it's in worse shape than I thought it was," Esme said downheartedly as we walked towards the house. I knew that she was really looking forward to the challenge of bringing it back to its glory before Emmett arrived, though. She couldn't fool us.

Despite Esme's opinion that it wasn't in the shape she wanted it to be in, the house was still breathtaking. It was a rustic-looking log cabin type of house, with the logs sticking out at the corners where they overlapped with the other logs. It reminded me of a well built Lincoln Log house, only with was much more attractive than any Lincoln Log house could ever be. There were at least five levels above ground, and who knows how many under. The windows sported navy blue shutters and the door's color matched those. There was a wrap-around porch on the first level and balconies outside every room on the upper levels. I could smell a pond somewhere in the back yard, and the woods encompassed the whole place for miles around, making it a nice, secluded spot for us to live.

It was perfect.

True, the paint on the shutters and door needed touched up, and even from outside I could smell all the dust inside, and there were a few boards that were rotting and needed replaced, especially in a house full of rowdy vampires, but all in all it was simply perfect.

We stepped inside the house to look around and make sure everything was in order, but we didn't get very far.

The inside of the house was in shambles. Every piece of furniture was ripped and overturned. The windows were all broken, which we couldn't tell from outside because of the shutters. The floors were torn up, scratched, and just overall ruined. The stairs were crushed in, making it impossible for us to go check the upper levels. The walls were all bashed in to make one room, and once we were inside we could hear the minute creaking of the house as it struggled to stay upright. It really needed those walls, the ones that were no longer there. A strong wind could mean the end of the house.

"Oh my," Esme moaned, the pain evident on her face. "What happened?"

Everyone glanced at Alice. She glared back.

"I can't see the past, and if I would have seen this, I would have told you," she snapped.

"It's fine, Alice," Carlisle assured her, trying to calm her down. "We know you would have told us. We just need to figure out what happened."

"It looks like this happened recently," I commented as I carefully walked forward, dodging the uneven places in the floor. "The dust hasn't settled again in some of these clean streaks, which means it had to happen under a week ago."

"There's still dust in the air, too," Victoria commented. "It's all stirred up."

"Who would have done this?" Esme questioned, the pain evident on her face.

"It doesn't smell like werewolves," I offered, thinking immediately of our "natural" enemy.

"It doesn't smell like anyone," Edward corrected me. He was obviously frustrated.

"Let's start cleaning up," Carlisle said. "It's a good thing we have the moving truck, we can use it to haul everything to the landfill and then use it to bring more supplies here so we can rebuild."

"It's a good thing we don't start school for a few weeks," Jasper commented. "It will take that long to fix everything."

"We need to go upstairs and see if there's this much damage up there, too," Rosalie suggested.

"I'll go up," Edward said. "I have practice jumping in second story windows," he grinned at me, and I grinned back.

"I'll come too," I offered. "We'll be back down here in a little bit."

Edward and I went out the door and jumped up to one of the second story balconies. We gently pushed open the doors, careful not to step too hard. We didn't want the floor to go crashing down because of the lack of support from downstairs.

"It's just as bad up here," Edward called downstairs. Not as many walls were bashed out, but the floors were ripped up, as was the furniture. The stuffing from the bed and feathers from the pillows were strewn about the room.

"What's that?" I asked, indicating some stains on the wall. I gasped and quickly backed away in horror when I got a better look.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Edward asked in alarm.

"Read it!" I commanded.

"Read what?" Edward demanded. He looked at the wall and then looked at me again in confusion. "Bella, honey, I don't see anything. What are you looking at?"

"You don't see the blood all over the wall?" I asked skeptically.

"No," Edward answered patiently. "There's nothing there, Bella. If there was blood on the wall, I would be able to smell it, and see it, but I can't smell anything except the dust."

"So you can't see that message on the wall?" I demanded, give Edward a panicked look.

"Bella, calm down, there's nothing there," Edward said, crossing the room to hold me in his arms.

"Yes, there is," I said softly, turning to bury my face in his chest. "It says, _'Beware, Cullens, you'll be next. By the time we're done, you'll end up like this house.'_ But Edward, that isn't the most terrifying part," I dry sobbed, and he pulled me closer.

"What is?" he asked.

I looked up at him fearfully. "The smaller message at the bottom."

"And what does it say?" Edward asked warily.

"If you can read this, you'll be the last to die."


	4. Hallucinations

"That's ridiculous, Bella," Edward said. "You're just imagining things. Maybe you need to hunt again. I'm going to make Alice suffer for even suggesting that you should have strained yourself by moving all the contents of our old house. You're obviously still not recovered from that yet. You're just imagining things."

"No, I'm not," I told him, looking up fearfully again. "That is plainly written on the wall. And I'm going to be the last to die. It says so. I'll have to watch all of you die! Oh, Edward!" I started dry sobbing again, and I clung to the front of Edward's shirt as I buried my face in his chest.

"Jasper," Edward called quietly.

A wave of calm spread throughout the house, but it didn't really help. I was still upset, still dry sobbing, so Edward picked me up and jumped off the balcony.

"I'm going to go look," Carlisle quietly announced once Edward brought me back in the front door. Edward sat down on an even patch of the floor and I curled into a ball on his lap. His arms encircled me, and I think he hoped that it would make me feel protected. It didn't work, but I didn't tell him that.

"You won't be able to see it," I warned Carlisle. "Only I can."

"Can vampire hallucinate?" Edward quietly asked Carlisle before our father left.

"I've never heard of it before," Carlisle answered just as quietly, hesitating by the door, "But if I don't see anything up there, then I may start to wonder if it's possible."

"I'm not hallucinating!" I protested as I got up. I ripped myself out of Edward's arms and stood off to the side, facing down my family, who all had identical looks of worry on their faces. But it wasn't worry about the house or that they were all going to die soon. I could tell it was the look of pity and worry that said they all thought I was imagining the message. "I _saw_ that upstairs." I pointed up the stairs for emphasis. "I _know_ it's there! Don't try to tell me I'm imagining it!"

"I'll go look," Carlisle repeated, and left this time.

Edward stood up and came to put his arms around me again. "Bella, we-" he started, but I cut him off and pulled out of his grasp.

"No," I told him. "I don't want to hear you say that you're worried about me. I'm not hallucinating, I'm not imaging it. It's there, and you can't see it because you won't be the last to die." I glared at him, and he put his arms at his side in defeat.

"Bella," Victoria started tentatively, "How would that work? How could you see something there and no one else could even tell that the wall had anything on it?"

"How can Alice see the future?" I demanded. "How can I call things to me? How can you confuse people? Can't it be someone's gift to hide things from others?" Carlisle walked back in the front door at that moment, and we all looked at him expectantly.

"Bella," Carlisle said sadly, "I didn't see anything"

"It's _there_," I insisted. "I know it is!"

"Bella, calm down," Edward told me. He tried to put his arms around me again.

"NO!" I shrieked, pulling away and running all the way across the room. I started yelling at them. "You all think I'm crazy! How can you expect me to calm down when that message just told me that you're all going to die before me, but then I will too, and then my family, _MY FAMILY_ doesn't even believe me! They're all too closed minded to even consider the possibility that there could be_ something_ there that only one person can see!"

"Jasper," Carlisle commanded quietly. The next thing I knew, I was too tired to keep my eyes open, and I started to crumple to the ground. Edward caught me right before I hit the floor, and he picked me up effortlessly.

"Did you make her sleep?" Rosalie asked, impressed.

"No, vampires can't sleep," Jasper answered. "She's just too calm and relaxed to move. She's still aware of her surroundings. It will wear off in a few hours."

"Go lay her down in one of the cars, and we'll get started cleaning this mess up," Carlisle commanded. I felt Edward walk out the door.

"I'm sorry we had to do this to you, Bella," Edward told me as he walked. "But you were starting to lose control of your gift, and Carlisle didn't want the house to fall down. If you had lost control of your gift, you would have called the remaining walls to you, and that would have been the end of the house. When this wears off, you should feel a little better. We'll go hunting once you're a little less relaxed."

But when Edward came out to check on me a few hours later, I wasn't in the car. I was hiding in the woods, just out of his sight.

"Bella?" he called. I didn't answer.

"BELLA!" He called again, louder.

"What happened?" Jasper called worriedly out the door. He was obviously worried that he had done something wrong.

"She's gone!" Edward called back.

"She can't be far," Jasper told him. "I can still feel her, so she's not out of my range."

"Alice?" Edward asked.

There was a moment of silence while Alice tried to see a vision of where I could be, and then she screamed.

"No!!!" she shrieked. "Edward, you have to find her now!"

I took off running. If my family wanted to think that I was hallucinating instead of believe me, then they deserved to have to try to find me. I'd find someone who believed me, and then I'd come back. I heard Edward enter the woods behind me, but I had a good head start, and he wouldn't catch up for a long time.

I paid no heed to the fact that Alice was worried about what could happen to me. I assumed that she had seen me running, and wanted Edward to stop me.

I wasn't expecting to get clotheslined by a marble-hard arm or to fall backwards with such a force that it knocked the wind out of me. But that's what happened, and I couldn't catch my breath to scream. Two marble arms lifted me and we were running again, but this time I didn't want to. I wanted to go back to Edward, back to my family who thought I was hallucinating.

Even a family who thinks you're crazy is better than someone you don't know vampire-napping you.


	5. You Have To Believe Me!

As the vampire who was carrying me ran, I tried to catch my breath enough to scream. It took me several moments, but I was finally able to let out a piercing scream.

"EDWARD!!!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I tried to squirm from her grasp. "EDWARD!!!!!"

"Save your breath, sweetie," the vampire carrying me said as she tightened her grip on me, making it impossible to escape. "He can't hear you, and even if he catches up with us, he can't see us. You're defenseless and helpless. You're at my mercy."

"What do you want?" I demanded, trying to jab my elbow into her stomach. It didn't even phase her.

"I'm here on orders, hun, but I will tell you that my boss has all of her information straight. She knows that you aren't affected by most gifts, she knows your husband can read minds, she knows that your sister can see the future and your other sister can confuse people. She knows that your leader is immune to human blood. She knows everything. So she picked the best people to confuse your family. You were our only problem, but since your family doesn't believe you, that isn't a problem anymore. I could kill you right now, if I wanted to, but I don't. I think it will work nicely if it looks like you ran away, so I'm going to drop you right here." She dropped me, and I landed with a grunt and then rolled a few feet before I hit a tree and stopped rolling. "See you later, Isabella, darling. See you right before your first family member dies," she called back, and then she was gone.

"Bella?" Edward asked as he ran up to me. "Oh, Bella, don't do that again. I was so worried that you were going to run away and not come back." He knelt down beside me and held out his hand to help me up.

"I didn't run away," I told him as I sat up. "Well, I did at first, but then the other vampire came. She knocked me over and then grabbed me, started running, and then she hid me, using her gift, and I tried screaming but you couldn't hear me and I was so worried, but she let me go because she said it would look like I had run away, and since you guys don't believe me about the writing she didn't think you would believe me about this. Edward, don't you see, she's the one who's hiding the writing, and the only reason why I can see it is because I'm immune to her gift!"

"Bella, there was no one else out here," Edward gently told me. "I would have heard their thoughts."

"So you don't believe me?" I asked incredulously. "You think I'm making this up too?"

Edward picked me up and started running back towards the house. I heard Jasper not far behind us. "I would have heard somebody, either them or their thoughts, and I didn't hear anybody," Edward said.

"I didn't feel anybody, either," Jasper added.

"You guys, you have to believe me!" I exclaimed. "The same person who hid the writing on the wall just tried to vampire-nap me, and she told me that she hid the writing, and she hid me, and I'm pretty sure that she hid herself too, and since I'm the only one who can see her, you have to believe me! Vampires can't hallucinate, Edward! I saw her! She knocked me over and took me!"

"Bella, calm down," Edward commanded. "I'm sorry I don't believe you, but I find it hard to imagine that there was a vampire here that we didn't even sense."

"What did Alice see that made her tell you to come find me?" I asked, desperately searching for something to help me.

"She saw you running away and never coming back," Edward answered. "We couldn't let that happen."

"She didn't see me getting kidnapped by that vampire?" I asked.

"No," Edward answered. We had arrived back at the house, and he took me inside.

"Oh, Bella!" Alice threw herself at me and gave me the biggest hug I'd ever received. "Don't EVER do that again!" she scolded me.

"Alice, I didn't run away," I told her. "There was another vampire out there that took me. She took me and hid me while we ran so that Edward couldn't fine me. She's the same one who hid the writing. The only reason why she let me go is because she knew you guys wouldn't believe me."

"I saw you running away," Alice countered. "I was so worried that they wouldn't catch you in time."

"In time for what?" I asked.

"To stop you," Alice answered patiently. "I can't lose you as a sister."

"Just leave her alone," Victoria ordered. She gave me a look I couldn't understand and then turned back to her job of ripping up the portions of the floor that had been destroyed. "She's had a long day. We just need to keep an eye on her."

I gasped in understanding and ran over to Victoria. "You know about the vampire I'm talking about, don't you? You _know_! Why don't you tell them?! Tell them who it is and that I'm not hallucinating!"

"I'm sorry, Bella," Victoria said. She turned to look at me, and the look in her eyes was flat and emotionless. "I don't know who you're talking about."

"Edward, why don't you take her hunting?" Carlisle suggested.

"Come on, Bella," Edward commanded. He grabbed my elbow and started pulling me towards the door, but I kept staring at Victoria in disbelief, so he was dragging me backwards.

"Bella," Edward commanded, and I turned and began running.

I wasn't running away, I just wanted to be alone. So I ran as fast as I could, trying to lose Edward.

But having the fastest vampire in the family for a husband doesn't help when you're trying to get some alone time. He easily kept pace with me.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Edward asked.

I stopped and punched a tree. A loud crack resonated around the woods, and the tree snapped where I had hit it.

"I don't know, Edward," I fumed. "Maybe I know something that could help save my family's lives, and they don't believe me. Or maybe I just got abducted against my will, and my family doesn't believe me about that either. Or, perhaps, my husband, _MY HUSBAND, _doesn't believe me and just thinks that I'm hallucinating! Or how about this one? One of my family members knows, at least vaguely, about what I'm trying to tell everyone, and she won't _talk!_ Could any of these things be wrong?!" I gave a frustrated growl and took off running again.

"Bella, calm down," Edward commanded as he caught up with me.

"Just leave me alone!" I snapped. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Bella, be reasonable," he pleaded.

"No!" I snapped. "I'm not the one being unreasonable. Leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you until you believe me." I found a sudden burst of speed, and I sprinted ahead before looping around again and dodging around trees. By some miracle, I lost Edward. I continued to run for another twenty minutes, until I finally broke down and cried. I sat on the ground, leaning on a tree, and let the dry sobs rack my body.

I'm not sure how long I sobbed, but I eventually felt Edward's arms wrap around me. He lifted me effortlessly onto his lap and I curled up there, sobbing into his chest.

"Why won't you believe me?" I sobbed. "Why is it that everyone thinks I'm insane? I'm not hallucinating, Edward, I'm really not. I know the writing is there, and I know that vampire grabbed me. Why can't you just accept that I'm the only one who can see these things?"

"Bella," he started hesitantly, "We can't see anything. We can't smell anything. Our gifts can't find anyone. We just have a hard time believing that there's someone out there."

"I'm the only one in the house immune to even a few vampire gifts," I pointed out. "I'm the only one who might not be affected by this vampire's gift. Had you thought of that?"

"Bella," he said, frustrated, "There's no one there. You're just imagining things."

"No. I'm. Not." I said, enunciating every word.

"Yes, you are," Edward told me.

"I'm done talking with you," I said, shaking my head and standing up. "I said I didn't want to talk to you until believe me, and you obviously don't believe me, so I'm going to go hunt on my own. You can go back and help your family clean up the house."

"Our family," Edward corrected me.

"Families support each other," I told him, "and you guys obviously don't believe me, and thus support me, so it's your family. I'm going to hunt. I'll meet you back at your house."

"Bella," he pleaded.

"I'm going hunting, _on my own_ and I'll meet you at your house," I repeated. I took off running again.

He didn't follow me. I was grateful. I had hoped that he wouldn't be difficult.

* * *

When I returned to the house a couple of hours later I saw that Emmett had arrived. Judging from the sympathetic look he gave me, I assumed that they had filled him in on what was happening, or at least their version of the story.

"Bella," Edward said in relief when he saw me. He started to move across the room to embrace me, but my glare stopped him.

"I don't think she wants to talk to you yet, Eddie Boy," Victoria cackled.

"Or you," I said, turning my glare to her. "Until you tell everyone what you know, you're on my poop list too."

"Poop list?" Emmett laughed. I glared at him and he stopped laughing. "Sorry," he muttered before returning to carrying the piles of ruined house materials out to the truck.

"Bella, why don't you come upstairs with me and we'll start cleaning up there?" Esme suggested softly. "I'll let you clean the wall since you're the only one who can see the message," she smiled at me, trying to make me feel better.

"Fine," I agreed shortly. I grabbed the cleaning supplies by the door and went outside to jump up onto to the balcony. Once I was upstairs I went to work trying to remove the message written on the wall, shuddering the entire time. I heard Esme behind me cleaning up all the stuffing and feathers from the floor.

As soon as that room was clean we moved on to the next. And then the next, and the next…

* * *

I spent the first week in my new home cleaning every surface that was still in tact until they were spotless.

I also spent my time ignoring my family. I refused to speak with any of them unless they addressed me first, and then I ended the interaction as quickly as possible.

I heard them talking about me as they tried to reconstruct the house. I ignored them, and all of their conversations about how they were worried about me.

Edward was the most worried. I refused to kiss him or hug him, or even let him touch me. It was torture, but I couldn't give in. They had to see that I was serious, that I really knew I had seen the message and been kidnapped, and that I wasn't going to forgive him until he believed me.

But my distance only worried them more. Edward started to blame Alice for suggesting that I move everything in the house. He thought the strain from moving everything had messed with my head.

I caught Carlisle watching me worriedly every time we were in the same room.

Esme pretended like she believed me, but I knew she didn't. Emmett kept trying to make jokes about it, but would stop every time when I made the cleaner come flying to me, taking a path that hit him in the back of the head every time. Rosalie was indifferent. She didn't really care one way or another. All she wanted was for the house to get done so we could move in. Jasper would occasionally send me calming waves, but they didn't do much. I just glared at him, and he'd shrug.

Alice came close to believing me. After all, she had been accused of being insane before, and she was willing to give me a little bit of credit. But she was still skeptical.

Victoria never said anything. She refused, claiming that she didn't know who, or what, I was talking about. But I knew that she at least had a basic idea. I just wasn't sure why she didn't talk.

Exactly one week after we arrived, the house was finished. We moved everything inside and took a break from building.

Edward and I were moving our things into our room. Edward refused to let me use my power to call things to me because he thought I was still recovering from the strain the week before. I growled at him, but he didn't seem to care.

"I wasn't hallucinating," I muttered under my breath as I stalked past him to go retrieve more of my clothes so I could hang them up.

"Just drop it already, Bella," he moaned. "We've been over this multiple times."

"But you still don't believe me, so we obviously haven't been over it enough," I told him.

"Bella, there was nothing on that wall. There was no vampire in the woods besides us and Jasper. You were imagining it all."

I grabbed the box with the clothes I hadn't put away yet and walked out the door.

"Bella, where are you going?" Edward asked warily.

"The guest bedroom," I answered. "I'm staying in there from now on."

"Bella," he protested, "don't do this. Come back. I'm sorry I don't believe you."

"But you aren't sorry enough to actually listen to me," I said, "so I might as well go where I can talk to the walls. They listen better than you do."

"That would just be creepy, you know that, right?" Edward asked. "If walls could actually listen to us?"

"At least they don't tell me I'm imagining things," I retorted. "I'm putting my things in my room and then I'm going hunting again. I want to be alone, if you don't mind."

"You're not going anywhere alone," Edward told me.

"Why? Are you afraid that I'll hallucinate there are some trees surrounding me and I won't come home because I think I'm trapped?" I scoffed at him and threw my box in the guest room.

"If there really is someone out there that wants to hurt us, then I don't want you out there alone," Edward admitted.

"Oh, now you start to believe me," said disbelievingly. "So we can go a whole week without talking or even touching and you have no problems saying I'm just imagining it, but the second I want to go anywhere on my own you start to wonder if I'm actually right. I think that's just an excuse to keep me here, or for you to come with me. But I don't want to go with anyone. I'm going alone."

"You've been hunting every day, Bella," Edward said softly. "We don't have to hunt every day. What are you really doing?"

"Spending some time by myself," I answered. "I've been spending my time out there trying to come up with a way to make you believe me. I've been trying to gain my husband's trust back." I looked at him sadly and finished, "But I haven't found a way yet. I keep hoping that if I spend enough time thinking about it that I'll finally come up with something."

"Bella, I want to believe you," he insisted.

"We've established that," I said coolly. "Now move out of my way so I can go hunting."

"I'm coming with you today," Victoria told me. She popped her head out of her room and said, "I've been wanting to hunt for a week, but I haven't been able to yet. I'm going today, and I'm coming with you."

"I want to go alone," I insisted.

"No suck luck, babe," she told me. "The baby of the family doesn't get to tell the others what to do."

"Fine!" I snapped. "I'm going now. Come if you want, because I guess I can't stop you."

I ran out the door, and I heard Victoria close behind me.

"Bella, wait up," she instructed.

I ignored her and ran faster.

"Bella, I want to talk to you about the message on the wall and why I refuse to say anything about it!" she called. I stopped immediately.

"So you do believe me," I said, turning to glare at her.

"I know who left it there, and why you're the only one who can see it," she agreed. "But I have a good reason for playing stupid. Will you please sit and let me tell you, without getting mad or running off? You have to promise to listen to me and let me get all the way through my explanation before you react. "Please?"

"Talk," I commanded, plopping down on the ground. She gracefully sat next to me.

"The vampire who took you is Luella," she explained. "Luella can hide things, people, or the truth from anyone she wants to. But her gift doesn't work on you, because you're just odd like that." She gave me an amused smile, but I glared at her, so she became serious again and continued, "Luella wouldn't come after me on her own. She has to be working for someone-"

"She is," I interjected.

"-someone who really hates me," Victoria finished. "I'm not sure who I pissed off enough for them to want to hurt my whole family, but apparently I have. I received a note, before we even left Forks, telling me that if anybody except you figured out what was going on that they would start the killing ahead of time, and no one would stand a chance. So I'm keeping everyone confused about it until I know exactly when they're going to strike. I'm trying to come up with a plan to prevent anyone from dying, but I don't even know what these other vampires want. I'm not sure what I've done, or what I can do to keep them from killing everyone. If I leave, they'll still come after you guys. If I don't leave, you'll be in the middle of it. But if I tell anyone but you, the killing starts immediately. They'll know if I tell anybody, too, so it's not like I can do it secretly."

"So you've made my life a living hell for the past week because you don't want us to help you plan this out?" I asked in a strained voice.

"I'm sorry, Bella," she said, "But I don't see any other way. Do you want them to start killing everyone as soon as I open my mouth?"

"We're a family, Victoria," I told her. "We're strong. We can get through it. Just let us know everything that you know, and we'll come up with something."

"That's the thing, I don't know anything," she admitted. "Luella's keeping everything hidden from me. I only know she's involved because I _can't_ figure anything out. And because you could see that message and no one else could."

"Let me snoop around," I suggested. "I might be able to find something that no one else can see."

"Be careful, Bella," she warned me. "If you find out too much they won't hesitate to make their warning to you false. They'll kill you on the spot."

"Give me some credit," I scoffed. "I can take care of myself if I'm paying attention."

"They'll catch you when you aren't paying attention, then," Victoria said. "They'll know all of our weaknesses."

"I think," I mused, "that I need to work on controlling my gift."

"How do you mean?" Victoria asked, aware that I wasn't just talking about the usual "call things to me" function.

"I need to try to figure out how to keep things away," I said. "If I can figure that out, then I can try to keep these people away."

"You won't be able to keep it up for very long," she warned me. "If it weakens you to move the entire contents of the house, how are you going to fare against a group of vampires trying to get to you? You only give a suggestion to 'living' beings when you call us. You've never actually made one of us come to you. Just a suggestion to stay away won't do much against someone who is truly bent on coming after you."

"It might buy us more time, though," I said. "You go ahead and hunt, and I'll work with my gift."

"I'm not leaving you alone," Victoria told me. "Not after this conversation. I'm going to stay with you."

"Then I'll call the wildlife here," I offered, having already taken care of that. "That way you can hunt and I can just sit here and work."

"Alright," Victoria agreed. She heard an animal come crashing towards us, and she took off, running a short distance to meet it so that she wouldn't distract me. I leaned against a tree and prepared to meditate.

I found that meditating helped me control my gift. Clearing my mind and focusing only on my breathing for a short time before turning my attention to my gift seemed to be the best way to both explore and strengthen it. The only downside to meditating was that I would occasionally get so caught up in clearing my mind that I would forget to stop things from coming to me. I tried to prevent that on this particular day. I didn't need to call anyone or anything to me.

With this thought in my mind, I began my meditation exercises.


	6. I Forgive You

After an hour of working with my gift, and not getting very far, I finally gave up for the day. I opened my eyes to find Victoria sitting in front of me, staring at me expectantly.

"It's about time," she grumbled. "I've been calling your name for about five minutes."

"I didn't even hear you," I told her truthfully. "I guess it's a good thing that you stayed with me."

"Any luck?" she asked hopefully. I shook my head, and her hopeful expression fell.

"I'm sorry," I told her. "I'm trying as hard as I can."

"It's okay," she told me in a subdued tone. "Even if you could, we wouldn't be able to rely on you all the time. I know how exhausting it can be to constantly try to use a gift, and never have any breaks. I wouldn't wish that on anyone I care about."

"I just wish I could do something," I told her. "I feel so helpless. I could see the message, I can see Luella, but I can't do anything about it."

"You think you feel helpless?" Victoria questioned as we stood up. "Think about how I feel. I know that Luella is out there, I know that I'm probably the reason why she's out there, and yet I can't see her, I can't see any messages she leaves, I can't piece any clues together that she might be careless enough to leave… " she trailed off, and then shook her head. "I think I feel even more helpless that you do." She started walking towards the house.

"At least I know why no one believes me," I said. "Thank you for telling me."

"Do you know how hard it is to keep Edward from believing you?" Victoria asked with a wry grin. "It's practically impossible to keep him in check the entire time."

"I'm sorry," I told her, looking down. If I could have blushed, I would have.

"It's not your fault the man is head over heels for you," Victoria teased me. "I'm just telling you, he wants to believe you, but I won't let him."

"I'll tell him that I realize I was just seeing things," I offered. "Will that help?"

"If he believes you," Victoria said. "Can you tell the whole family that you know you were just seeing things? That might help me out. If I'm not trying to keep everyone from believing you, then I might be able to look for things that Luella may have forgotten to hide that you wouldn't catch onto."

"I'll tell them when we get back," I agreed.

"Shall we run then?" Victoria asked.

"We shall," I told her, and then added with a laugh, "Race you!"

* * *

As Victoria and I entered the house, laughing, everyone turned to look at us in amazement. They were all downstairs, putting things away, and so they were all there for our grand entrance.

"She's _laughing_!" I heard Emmett exclaim in a whisper to Edward. Edward looked at me cautiously, trying to gage if he was forgiven or not.

"Yes, Emmett, I'm laughing," I told him. I walked over to Edward, poking Emmett in the side on my way past, and gave my husband a kiss. He pulled me closer immediately.

"Hey, save that for later," Jasper complained, but I could tell that he was happy to see me not quite as upset. He was bound to notice that I was still worried, but my overall mood had considerably brightened once I realized that my family really does support me, and that they would believe me if they could.

"I haven't even touched my wife in a week and you tell me to save kissing her for later?" Edward questioned as we pulled apart.

"What did you do to her?" Alice asked Victoria. "Whatever it is, I'm impressed."

"She just talked with me," I said with a shrug as I turned to face everyone. Edward shifted so he was directly behind me with his arms around my waist. "She pointed a few things out, hit me over the head with a metaphorical two-by-four, and helped me realize that I probably had been seeing things. I'm not worried about it anymore. If something does happen, well, we're a family, and as long as we're a united family then nothing can happen to us." I turned my head and smiled up at Edward. "And the best news for you is that I forgive you." He squeezed me a little tighter and kissed the top of my head. I broadened my smile and turned back to the rest of the family. They were all, minus Victoria, watching me with wary expressions. I sighed and wiped the smile off my face.

"I forgive all of you," I said, making eye contact with each one before ending on Victoria. "Can you all forgive me? My behavior for this past week has been inexcusable."

"Of course," Esme answered immediately. "What good are we as a family if we don't forgive you?" She came over to give me a hug, and Edward reluctantly released me to his mother's grasp.

"Thank you," I told her as I returned the hug. "Thank you to all of you for putting up with my horrid mood."

"I'm glad you're back, Bella," Alice said sincerely. She also came to give me a hug, and I was glad to see that she wasn't her overly bubbly self at the moment. That would have been a little too much. She smiled as she pulled away and danced off to go finish putting things away.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm stealing my wife and we're going to go move all of her things back to our room," Edward said as he picked me up and started carrying me away.

"You have to come help us put stuff away down here once your room is back in order!" Emmett called. "We don't want you two getting distracted until after the house is completely ready!"

"Shut up, Emmett," Edward commanded. Emmett laughed, and, once again, I found myself happy that I could no longer blush.

"I am sorry Edward," I told him as he carried me to the guest bedroom. "I overreacted about something that I just imagined. I wish I had just listened to everyone so that I could have spent this past week in a better mood. I know I was really stupid, and I'm sorry."

"Just don't ever do it again," Edward told me as he set me down. He turned me so I was facing him, and gave me an uninterrupted kiss.

"Thank you," I murmured once we had pulled away. "That was more than I deserved."

"Let's move your stuff back to our room," Edward said. "The sooner we do that the better I'll feel."

"What, are you afraid that I'm going to go back to the depressed, always angry Bella and that I'll want to come back in here?" I asked teasingly, but the look on Edward's face told me everything that I needed to know.

Yes, yes he did. He was afraid that my happy mood would wear off and that I'd wouldn't be so pleasant. So I sighed, gave him a kiss, and used my powers to bring all the boxes with me to our room.

"I'm sorry," Edward apologized, "but I am worried that you'll go back to being depressed. I'm not sure if one conversation with Victoria is enough to make you really believe that you were seeing things."

"You think she used her gift to confuse me into thinking that I was wrong," I stated. It wasn't a question.

"Yes," he admitted.

"Her gift doesn't affect me," I reminded him.

"Why else would you be in a better mood?" Edward asked.

"She pointed out that I was hurting my family," I said. "All my talk about how families support each other was rather hypocritical if I wouldn't let you guys help me. So I decided to listen to what everyone was saying."

"Are you sure that's what happened?" Edward asked as he helped me hang up my clothes.

"You're just sore that it was Victoria who put me in a better mood," I teased him, and he grinned.

"You're right," he agreed. "I do wish it had been me."

"But you're the only one who can keep me in a good mood," I told him with a wink. He pulled me close to him, and our lips were just about to touch when…

"DON'T GET DISTRACTED!!!!" Emmett hollered from downstairs. Edward and I both growled as we pulled away from each other.

"EMMETT!!!!" We yelled together.

"Ouch!" Emmett exclaimed as one of the stray bricks from the fireplace that we hadn't taken out to the truck yet flew past him and just happened to hit him in the head. Edward laughed, I was assuming at the picture in our sibling's minds.

"Nice one, Bella!" Rosalie called.

"Et tu, Brute?" Emmett dramatically asked Rosalie.

"I'm not Brutus," Rosalie snorted. "And yes, you deserved that. How would you feel if our brother stopped you from kissing me after I hadn't allowed you to touch me for a week?"

"Well, I… but…" Emmett struggled for words.

"Now do you see why you're being a prude?" Rosalie asked.

"I was just trying to be funny," Emmett protested.

"No touching me for a week," Rosalie told him, much to the amusement of the rest of the family. Whistles and whoops sounded throughout the house.

"But Rose," Emmett whined.

"Live with it!" I called downstairs before turning back to kiss Edward. Even my extra-sensitive vampire hearing didn't help me hear Emmett's comment as I lost myself in Edward's kisses.

That was one enjoyable night.

For everyone except Emmett, that is.

I'm not sure if he's learned his lesson or not.


	7. School Supplies and Unwelcome Aunts

A/N: Sorry about the wait. I was on spring break this past week, and I was more busy over break that I ever am during school. Here's the next chapter. (Warning - there is a slight amount of possibly inappropriate language in this chapter, but it's not like we all haven't heard/read it before. Just a forewarning... Anyway, on with the chapter!

* * *

The next week was one of mixed emotions. On one hand, my family thought I was better, so they were happy. I still knew the truth, and knew that we had limited time, but I couldn't act like I still believed the message was real, so I had to be happy-go-lucky just like everybody else. Emmett suffered, for obvious reasons, and we all laughed at him for that. I noticed Victoria kept looking around the house and woods, attempting to find any clue to help her. When the rest of the family asked why she was spending so much time in the woods she answered that she was getting ready to go to a stupid school, where she had to sit with stupid humans all day long, and she wanted to be prepared. No one questioned her after that.

No more notes came, no one appeared, and I almost caught myself wondering if I really had imagined everything. But I knew I hadn't, and I couldn't keep from wondering when the other group was going to strike. I wanted them to do something and just get it over with.

"Bella?" Edward asked one day in the middle of the week. I was sitting in a chair in the living room, simply staring out the window.

"Yes?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. He picked me up and he sat down properly in the chair before putting me sideways on his lap so that my legs were hanging over the arm. "You've been very quiet lately."

"I'm just thinking," I told him. I leaned into him and rested my head on his chest. "I have a lot to think about."

"Like…" he prompted.

"Nothing that important," I told him with a little smile. "You know, the meaning of life, what came first, the chicken or the egg, you know, those kinds of things."

He groaned. "I keep thinking it will be easier to not be able to hear your thoughts, but it gets nothing but worse the longer we know each other. You never give me a straight answer."

"I do too," I protested. "I may edit a little, but I usually tell you what I'm thinking about."

"You really edited that one," Edward accused me.

"Just a little," I agreed, "but not a lot. I'm really thinking about family. I'm lucky enough to have two close families. Most people don't get this close to their in-laws."

"Most people aren't vegetarian vampires," Edward told me wryly. "We kind of have to live like this."

"I'm not complaining," I told him. "I love you guys enough to want to spend eternity with all of you."

"We love you too," Edward assured me. He gave me a kiss on the top of my head and then stood up, taking me with him.

"Where are we going?" I asked politely.

"School shopping," he answered. "We need new school supplies. Ours got misplaced during the move."

"Okay," I agreed. Edward carried me up to our room so that we could get changed into new clothes to go to the store. I gasped when I entered the room and saw all of our papers, pencils, pens, and other school supplies completely shredded and thrown about the room.

"What?" Edward asked.

"I… nothing," I said. "The glare from the window blinded me for a second." Edward looked outside at the dark clouds, looked at me questioningly, but then shrugged as a way of accepting my explanation.

"Go ahead and get changed," Edward told me, giving me one more suspicious look. He grabbed his own clothes and went into the bathroom attached to our room.

I knelt down and sifted through the paper, knowing that there would be a note. There was. It was written in blood again.

"Good luck at school tomorrow. Someone will die before noon, and if you're lucky it will be an innocent human not someone in your family. Tell anyone and we kill you immediately."

"What's wrong, Bella?" Edward asked as he emerged from the bathroom.

"Nothing," I said a little too quickly, standing up and dropping the note. "I lost an earring, is all."

"Go get changed," Edward told me. I grabbed my clothes and rushed into the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom I leaned on the door and sank to the floor. I couldn't tell anybody, yet how was I supposed to keep that a secret? How could Edward not feel the paper as he walked through it? How could he not hear the crunch as he stepped on the plastic pens and they succumbed to his weight? How could I be the only one to see these things?

"Bella?" Edward worriedly asked through the door. "Are you okay in there?"

I didn't realize that I had been sobbing. I sprang to my feet and pulled on the fresh clothes.

"I'm fine," I called back. "I'll be out in a second."

Sure enough, exactly one second later I was out the door with my dirty clothes in my arms. I threw them on the bed and looked at Edward.

"Let's go," I said.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Edward asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," I insisted. "Let's go."

"Bella," he said, and started to cross the room to embrace me. "Tell me what's wro-" he cut off as he tripped over the strap of one of the shredded backpacks. He looked curiously at the floor and asked, "What was that?"

"I… I don't know," I stammered. "Let's just go to the store."

"I tripped over something," Edward protested, still looking at the floor. "What was it?"

"There's nothing there," I told him. "Let's go."

"You can see something there, can't you?" Edward asked, looking up. His eyes locked with mine, and he unleashed the persuasive power of his eyes on me, full force. "Tell me," he breathed as he crossed the room to gather me in his arms.

It was almost impossible to think coherently while drowning in his eyes, but I managed it somehow. I forgot to breathe for a moment, but I had to take a deep, yet shaky, breath before I could answer. "I… I… I don't see anything… there."

"What's going on in here?" Jasper asked from the doorway. He glanced curiously between Edward and me, taking in my panicked emotions and Edward's confused feeling.

"I'm not sure," Edward said, "Bella's trying to hide something."

"I am not," I protested.

"Why are you so upset?" Jasper asked me.

"It's nothing," I said. I pulled out of Edward's grasp and headed for the door. "I'm going to go wait in the Volvo, Edward."

"She's hiding something," I heard Jasper confirm as I ran downstairs. I ran outside and got in the car.

"Bella?" Victoria asked as she came out and opened my door. "What's wrong? You're freaked out, I can tell."

"Nothing," I stressed. I gave her a desperate look, and she seemed to understand.

"Another note?" she whispered.

"No," I lied. "There's nothing." I gave her another desperate look and added in a whisper so only she could hear, "I can't tell anyone."

"Where?" Victoria demanded quietly.

"Our room. Our school stuff was shredded and strewn about the room."

Edward came out of the house then, and I gave Victoria a look that told her we would talk about it later. "It was nothing, really. I don't know why you guys think I'm hiding something."

"Whatever, Bella," Victoria said with a shrug. "Have fun shopping. We'll see you when you get back."

"See you later," I told her as Edward got in the drivers side. Victoria ran back in the house as we pulled out of the driveway.

"Bella, what's really wrong?" Edward asked.

"Nothing," I insisted.

"We're alone and no one can hear us. Tell me what's wrong."

"You don't know that we're alone," I told him sadly.

"You still think that there's someone out there, don't you?" Edward asked.

"No!" I yelled at him. "Give up, already! There's nothing wrong!"

"Calm down," Edward told me, alarmed at my sudden shift in mood. "I'm sorry I asked."

I crossed my arms and angled my body so that I was practically facing the door. I didn't talk to him for the rest of the short ride to town.

Once we arrived at the store we got out of the car, and I refused to hold his hand as we walked in.

"Bella," he complained softly.

"We're supposed to be in ninth grade," I reminded him just as softly. "Shouldn't we start acting now?"

"Ninth graders hold hands," Edward reminded me. "Some sixth graders have already had sex."

"We're supposed to be model children," I argued.

"There's nothing wrong with holding hands."

"Bella?" Someone asked. I turned around to see who had already recognized me.

"Luella," I greeted her icily with narrowed eyes.

"It's been so long since I've seen you, honey!" she exclaimed, moving forward to give me a hug. I stopped her with a hand on her chest. She dropped her arms and gave me a sad look.

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"Can't an aunt be happy to see her niece?" Luella asked. She readjusted her purse, and I noticed a note pinned on the strap which read, "Play along or he's the first to die."

"I don't ever want to see you," I informed her, "You have made my life miserable."

"Now, is that any way to treat your aunt?" she protested.

"Bella, be nice," Edward scolded me softly.

"After what you did to my family, confusing them and acting like that, I'm not ever going to forgive you, nor give you the common courtesy of pretending to like you. Now, if you don't mind, _auntie,_ I'm going to go shopping with my husband." I gave her one last glare before whipping around and storming away. Edward was about to follow, but Luella stopped him.

"Aren't you Mark?" she asked. Had I still possessed a beating heart it would have stopped right there.

"No, I'm Edward," Edward corrected her. "Bella and Mark got a divorce."

I stomped back to the group. "How do you know about Mark?" I hissed.

"You think my sister didn't tell me that her only daughter was getting married?" Luella questioned.

"My mother never talks to you," I told her, "and I know you didn't get an invitation or wedding announcement."

"My sister talks to me more than you may realize, sweetie," Luella said. "She told me all about the marriage."

"Then why didn't she tell you about the divorce?" I asked.

"It may have slipped her mind," Luella said offhandedly. She looked at her watch and looked startled. "Well, look at the time. I need to get shopping. What are you kids looking for? Maybe we can shop together."

"We're going home," I muttered before Edward could answer. "I never want to see you again, Luella. Stay away from my families, and go back to whoever sent you. I don't want you ruining my life even more."

"Bella!" Edward exclaimed. "We're in public! Be nice!"

"We're going," I told him. I grabbed his elbow and started pulling him out of the store.

"It was nice to meet you, Eddie Boy!" Luella cackled.

"Bella, we have to get school supplies," Edward protested as he followed me. I took the keys from his pocket and went to the driver's side, leaving Edward to take the passenger side.

"Not from this store, we don't," I said. "I never want to be in the same building as that woman again."

"She seemed nice enough," Edward protested.

I waited to answer him until I was sure we were far enough away that she wouldn't hear. "She's the reason why we need new school supplies. She's the reason why you tripped over an invisible, yet shredded, backpack. She's the one that left me those lovely messages. She's the whole reason why my whole damn life is going to be ruined!"

"Language, Bella," Edward gently chastised me. "How could she do all that? She's just a human."

I turned my head to stare at him incredulously. "You couldn't even tell that she was a vampire?" My nostrils flared and I gazed at him angrily. "You couldn't even tell that she had burgundy eyes and white skin and huge bags under her eyes?!"

"Watch the road," Edward reminded me.

"You can't even tell that the woman who's going to ruin everyone's lives is a vampire! How do you expect me to watch the road?!" I shouted.

"Pull over," Edward commanded.

"No, we're driving until we're out of here," I snarled.

"Bella, you're upset, you're losing control of your gift, you're going over 200 mph, and there's a cop coming. Pull over."

"Fine!" I snapped. I slammed on the breaks, throwing us both forward. "I'm running home. Don't let Luella kill you while I'm gone."

"Bella!" Edward called after me, but I was already out the door and gone. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Victoria's number.

"What?" she asked when she picked up.

"We ran into Luella at the store. Edward can't even tell she's a vampire."

"Sh-" Victoria started.

"But that's not the worst part," I continued, cutting her off. "The note that I found on the floor of our bedroom is." I relayed the message, and Victoria let out a low whistle.

"That's bad," she said. "But why are you telling me? What if she can hear you?"

"I don't care. We're telling the whole family tonight," I told her.

"We can't!" Victoria said. "She'll kill us all!"

"I don't want anyone dying tomorrow, and if that means that we have to tell our family so that she'll attack now and not at school tomorrow, then so be it. We can protect ourselves."

"This is a mistake," Victoria warned me.

"I don't care," I told her. "No confusing everyone tonight. Let them think freely for the first time since we've arrived."

"Very well," Victoria assented with a sigh. "I'll get the family in the living room so that when you get here we can start talking immediately."

"Thank you," I told her. I hung up and put my cell phone back in my pocket before running faster. I had to beat Luella to the house.


	8. Poor Police Officer

A/N: Here's a special author's note for two of my readers. First, thanks to i.love.oreos for unknowingly giving me an idea for this chapter (Bella dealing with the cop). Secondly, thanks to edwardsonetruelove for her highly amusing review. She threatened to chase me down with a stick and a laptop if I didn't update soon. Well, hun, here's the next update. Hold back the sticks until later. ;) But her review did make me laugh, like, really hard, so here's the "You-made-Addie-laugh-at-your-review" award. Kudos for you. :)

And… here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy. :)

* * *

I burst in the door a few moments later and ran straight into the living room. Sure enough, everyone except Edward was there, and they all looked expectantly at me.

"Where's Edward?" Emmett asked.

"He's driving the car home," I answered. "I ran."

"You told me, and then you left a member of the family who can't see this woman alone?" Victoria hissed. My eyes grew wide as I realized exactly what I had done.

"I'll be back in a minute!" I called over my shoulder as I ran out the door.

"What's wrong with her?" Rosalie asked.

I ran to the road and towards the store, hoping that Luella hadn't gotten to Edward already. As I ran I just kept repeating, "Let him be safe, let him be safe," over and over again in my head.

It was an immense relief to me when I saw Edward on the side of the road, pulled over by a police officer. The officer was getting out of his car with Edward's license and the Volvo's registration in his hands. I ran up to the car and leaned through the window to give my husband a kiss.

"Ma'am?" the police officer asked politely. "What are you doing?"

"Kissing my boyfriend," I answered without looking at the officer.

I saw Edward's eyes darken and he broke his gaze away from mine for a second to glare at the officer. I took that as an opportunity to look at the officer too. He was short and round, an obvious result of eating too many doughnuts. And I knew it was doughnuts because I could smell the doughnut boxes in his car.

"Please step away from the car, Miss," the officer instructed me. "I need to give your boyfriend his ticket."

"Oh, but Sir," I said with a pout, releasing the full force of my eyes' power on him, "Are you _sure_ you want to give him a ticket? He wasn't going that fast, was he?"

"He.. uh, well, he was going, a little… a little faster than we prefer," the officer stuttered.

"But it's just this once," I wheedled, "He hasn't ever gotten a ticket before. It's my fault, really. He was coming to pick me up because there was a bear chasing me."

"How did you get away?" the officer asked, entranced.

"I ran fast," I whispered in his ear. I pulled back a little and pouted again. "Is it really necessary to give him a ticket? He won't ever speed again."

"I suppose I could… could let him off with a warning," the officer admitted.

"Thank you," I told him sincerely. I gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "Can we go now, then? I don't want to be here when that bear comes."

"Of course," the officer answered, still dazed by me. "Have a good day."

"You too," I told him. I took Edward's license and registration out of the officer's hands and went around to the passenger side of the car to hop in.

"Go," I instructed Edward. He didn't need told twice. He waited until we were out of the dazed Cop's sight before hitting the gas.

"What was that all about?" he demanded.

"My tantrum?" I asked.

"No, your dancing," Edward said sarcastically. "Yes, your tantrum. What is up with you lately?"

"I'll explain when we get home," I promised. "The family is waiting for us there."

"It's that big?" he asked.

"It's that big," I confirmed.

"And what was up with _that_?" Edward asked.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"That poor cop," Edward said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. "I actually feel sorry for him. Do you know how hard it is to make me feel sorry for someone who has such dirty thoughts about you?"

"Practically impossible," I answered.

"And you accuse me of dazzling people," Edward said with another chuckle. "Poor Officer Whitlesy."

We pulled into the driveway then, and we were out of the car before the car had even come to a complete stop.

"Don't throw it into park until it's completely stopped!" Rosalie yelled from the house, but we ignored her.

"Alright, we need to talk," I said once I burst in the door. "Can we go in the basement so that no one can hear us?"

"Do we need to?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes," Victoria told him. "We need to."

We all filed into the soundproof basement, locking the hidden door behind us. Once we were seated comfortably, I began.

"Alright, you all remember that I saw that message on the wall that no one else could see, right?" I asked.

"Yes," Edward answered warily.

"And you know how I said I realized I was just seeing things, and that it wasn't real? Yeah, I lied. I know it was there. I talked with Victoria, and she knows who's doing all of this. Luella-"

"Isn't that who we just met?" Edward interrupted me.

"Yes," I answered. "Luella can hide things. Her power doesn't work on me because I'm immune to most vampire gifts. She's been hiding from you, and she's been leaving me messages."

I took the next few minutes, talking vampire speed, to explain everything, from what Luella had told me to what Victoria had filled in. I told them about the encounter in the store. I told them about how I was afraid for Mark and Angela because Luella and whatever group she was working with knew about them. I told them everything, down to the description of what both messages looked like. They all looked grim when I finished.

"Why did you prevent us from believing her before?" Carlisle asked Victoria.

"I knew that as soon as everyone knew, that we would all die," Victoria answered. "We aren't just dealing with one vampire. We're dealing with a group of very dangerous hunters."

"What do you mean?" Alice asked.

"You all know that I'm not the most… diplomatic." Victoria said reluctantly. "When I was married to James, I went with him to this…" she thought for a second, trying to come up with an appropriate word, "this club, of sorts," she finally said. "It wasn't a coven. They didn't have to protect each other, and there were no bonds. There was an elected president and vice-president. The vampires who thought of hunting as their passion, their life's purpose, their hobby, their everything, could apply to join this club. James applied, and he passed the admittance test. Only the best hunters and trackers are admitted. At the meetings, they discuss different hunting techniques and any difficulties they have encountered. This club is second in power to the Volturi. They have the most powerful hunters, the most interesting talents, the most deadly vampires they can get. The only reason why people leave this club is if they get inducted into the royal guard."

"How does this affect us?" Emmett asked.

"I, well, I could go to the meetings because I was James' mate. And my less than diplomatic tongue got me in trouble-"

"Surprise, Surprise," Edward muttered.

"And now I think they want revenge," Victoria finished, ignoring Edward's comment.

"So how does this information help us?" Carlisle asked, taking over.

"We know we're up against practically impossible odds," Alice said glumly, staring at the floor. "We know that because Luella has the power she does that I can't see anything they're planning unless they want me to. We know that Edward will be the first to die. And we know that we'll be close behind him." She looked up then and glanced around, making eye contact with everyone and finally stopping on me. "We know that Bella is our only hope if we want to live."

"We know that it will be challenging," Emmett said, trying to point out the more positive things to offset Alice's morose mood.

"We know that we have to come up with some way to see everyone," Jasper added.

"We know that this is no easy matter," Edward added, "but if we stay together and work as a family then we can survive."

"We know that Bella wasn't just seeing things," Esme added. "We know that the warnings are real."

"We know that we have to be extra careful tomorrow at school," Rosalie said. "If we aren't careful, then either one of us will die, or one of the children there will."

"So we need to come up with a plan," Carlisle said. "Does anybody have any ideas on how we can prevent anyone from dying?"

"Bella is the only person who will be able to see Luella," Victoria said, "and I am sure that Luella will hide anyone else who comes to help."

"So we need to be extra observant, looking for clues like empty spots in crowds where no one can go, because there might be an invisible vampire there," Jasper suggested. "We need to look for things like footprints in the snow that have no one making them."

"Edward needs to keep tabs on everyone's minds so that he knows if anyone bumps into someone but doesn't see anybody," Alice suggested. "Then he can keep track of all of us, too. If something happens to any of us, then he will know and he can get everyone to come help."

"What if Edward is the one that they target?" Rosalie asked. "Luella said that if Bella told us that Edward would be first."

"Edward and I have identical schedules," I said. "I can keep an eye on him. If he signals to me that something is happening with one of you, then I can call us all to somewhere safe."

"What about Carlisle and Esme?" Emmett asked.

"We will stay here tomorrow and spend some time cleaning the rooms down here," Carlisle suggested. "They can't get in here, and there's little that they can do from the outside that will affect us in here. We don't have to breathe, so it's not like they can cut off our air supply. The rooms down here are fireproof, and this was originally used as a bomb shelter. Even vampires have trouble getting past bomb shelters."

"What if I call anyone wishing ill to our family to me?" I asked quietly. Everyone turned to stare at me. "I mean, I can see them all. If I call them to me, then I can tell exactly where they all are, and I can tell you guys, if I have to."

"Absolutely not," Edward said in a deadly tone. "I will not have you calling the enemy to you."

"But then we know where they are," I pointed out.

"What if they kill you?" Edward asked. "We lose the only person who can see them. You are not calling them to you."

"We can't protect you if we can't see them," Emmett added. "I think it's a bad idea."

"It's a good idea," Alice protested. "If we have them all in one central area, then Bella could tell us where to find Luella and we could kill her, therefore lifting their invisibility, and then we can turn on the rest."

"Then why don't we just call Luella now so that we can kill her before tomorrow?" Carlisle asked.

"Good idea!" Emmett exclaimed. "Do it, Bella. We can kill her now!"

"What if she brings her friends?" I asked.

"Better that we should have this fight here than at school where innocent humans might be hurt or see us," Edward pointed out.

"Call her here," Carlisle instructed me. I sighed and closed my eyes, reaching for my power.

"I need to go upstairs for this to work properly," I said before actually calling her. Edward let me off his lap, and we all trudged up the stairs. I was the first to reach the top and open the door.

"Hello, Bella," Luella said when I opened the door. She stood five feet from the door with two friends behind her.

"Hello, Luella," I said cautiously, stopping in the doorway so my family couldn't get past me.

"I see you didn't keep our little secret," Luella said casually.

"Did you expect me to?" I inquired.

"I had hoped," Luella said with a sigh. She and her friends took a step forward, and her friends spread out, blocking any escape.

"Would you like to tell your family that I'm here and I have friends?" Luella questioned. "I'm sure they would love to know how many vampires they can't see."

"Bella?" Alice questioned.

"I'm sure they would love to know that you and your two silly friends are here," I said, "but it's not like it matters."

"Doesn't it?" Luella questioned, taking another step forward.

"Doesn't it?" Edward unknowingly asked at the same time.

"It doesn't," I told them both.

"What?!" Edward exclaimed. I ignored him.

"Why doesn't it?" she asked, genuinely curious.

"Because I'm going to kill you before they even get a chance to move!" I snarled and lunged for Luella.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed. She tried to hold me back, but I was already on top of Luella and we were rolling around on the floor.

"There's two more!" I called to my family as we wrestled.

"They can't hear you," Luella growled. She flipped me onto my back.

"They heard me before," I spat back at her, flipping her over my head and then doing a somersault, landing with my knee pressed to her stomach.

"No they didn't," Luella said smugly. I punched her in the face.

"They'll be fine," I growled. I started to twist her arm, trying to rip her to shreds.

"I wouldn't kill me if I were you," Luella said.

"Give me one good reason why not," I demanded.

"Whatever I've made invisible stays invisible until I command it to show itself. You're invisible right now. You will stay invisible even once I'm dead."

"I will not," I said, seeing through her trick. "Your lies don't affect me."

She was shredded a few minutes later, and I held a match over her remains, ready to drop it, when I heard,

"Do it outside." Esme came over to me and took the match before I could drop it. "I don't want her to permanently mar my home any more that she already has."

We took the shreds of all three vampires outside and threw them in a pile, not wanting to waste any more matches than we had to on them. They let me drop the match.

"You know this isn't over, don't you?" Victoria asked softly as we watched the pile burn.

"They won't be mad just at you now," Emmett commented. "They'll hate all of us."

"They already do," Alice said softly. "But at least they can't hide from us now. We have a better chance of surviving."

"Will anything happen tomorrow?" Carlisle asked.

Alice closed her eyes and remained still for a few moments.

"No," she finally answered. "Luella wasn't scheduled to check in with the club for another week."

"We'll be ready by then," Jasper declared.

"I don't know that," I said quietly. "Luella said they know everything about us."

"They even know about Mark and Angela," Edward added. "Luella asked me if I was Mark. I'm guessing that was just to make a point to Bella that they do know everything."

"So Bella's friends and family could get pulled into this?" Rosalie checked.

"They could," Victoria admitted. "It could get ugly."

"It already is," I sighed. "It's just a question of how much uglier it can get."


	9. First Day Of School

"Aren't you two cutting it a little short for getting new school supplies?" the lady at the cash register asked as she scanned all of our supplies the next morning, an hour before school was supposed to start.

"We just moved here, and we aren't sure where our stuff got put," I told her. "Can you please hurry? We do have to go to school to get our schedules and figure out where we're going."

"Whatever, honey," the lady said with a shrug. She blew another bubble with her bright pink bubblegum, and I felt the childish urge to reach out and poke the bubble so it would pop and get all over her face. I glanced sideways at Edward, and he seemed to feel the same way. We shared a look and then reached out together, using vampire speed of course, and popped the gigantic bubble.

The pink stuff went all over her face. Edward and I had the decency to look shocked.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. She tried to pull the bubblegum off her face, but it was stuck there.

"Can you just give us our total?" Edward hinted.

"Sure, hun," she said. She pulled enough away from one eye to be able to peak at the register. She pushed a few buttons, told us our total, accepted our money, gave us change, and sent us on our way.

We waited until we were in the car to burst out laughing.

"I was so tempted," I admitted with a laugh.

"So was I," Edward agreed. "She had it coming to her, she really did."

"At least she wasn't hitting on you," I pointed out.

"She didn't have to. Her thoughts were bad enough," Edward groaned.

"But she didn't do anything about it," I reminded him. "Most men can't read women's minds, so she probably thought that she was safe only thinking it."

"I suppose," Edward agreed reluctantly. He started the car and we started the drive back home. "Let's go pick up our share of the siblings, and we can all head off to school again."

"At least we know nothing will happen today," I said happily.

"We don't think anything will happen today," Edward corrected me. "The future isn't set in stone."

"Can't I be optimistic?" I asked.

"I'll let you be realistically optimistic," Edward answered, "but not stupidly optimistic. If we think nothing will happen, then we're setting ourselves up for disaster."

"How do you think Victoria will do?" I asked. Victoria was posing as a junior. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper were posing as sophomores. Alice, Edward and I were posing as freshmen. We made sure that Victoria had at least one of us in all of her classes, so that if she started to lose control we could be there to help stop her.

"I think she'll be okay," Edward said. "She seems pretty determined that she's not going to slip up. She doesn't want to disappoint you, especially not after the past two weeks."

"Why?" I asked as we pulled up to the house.

"She feels bad for confusing all of us into not believing you," Edward answered. "She knows that it was hard on you. She joined our coven because of you, because you saw the good in her, and she appreciates that. She doesn't want you to think that she's evil."

"Everybody slips at least once," I said.

"You probably won't," Edward pointed out.

"We don't know that," I told him. "I may find somebody who is the same to me as I was to you, and I won't have any practice abstaining from human blood. I may slip too."

"Let's not talk about slipping," Victoria growled as she slid in the back seat. "I'd rather not think about it."

"It's such a cheery topic," Alice protested teasingly as she slid in after her.

"Or not," Jasper added as he got in the other side. "I'd prefer a different topic as well."

"Party poopers," I grumbled, sticking my tongue out at them.

"We're ready!" Rosalie called from the BMW.

"How come the supposed junior in the family has to ride cramped in the Volvo when there are only two people in the BMW?" Victoria asked.

"You know Rosalie and her cars," Edward answered dismissively. He put the Volvo back in drive and pulled around so that we were leading.

"How big is this school?" I asked.

"There's a grand whopping total of about 500 students," Jasper answered with a grin. "Slightly bigger than Forks High."

"Well, that's a slight improvement," I said happily. "We won't be such a big deal as new students."

"We're vampires with unnatural beauty, grace, and intelligence. We're still going to be big news," Edward assured me.

"I'm not quite as intelligent as the rest of you," I said. "This will be embarrassing."

"You have a college degree, Bella," Alice pointed out. "We're posing as freshmen. How many freshmen do you know who have college degrees already?"

"Not many," I admitted.

"You'll be fine," Victoria told me. "Now I, on the other hand, have not been to high school since I was a human. This will be difficult for me."

"I'm sure you'll do great," I assured her. "We can tutor you at night if we need to."

"Great." Victoria moaned. "Just what I want. It's always been my dream to go to high school all day long, and then come home and get tutored all night long. Yeah, that's my lifelong dream, right there."

"I'm glad we can be so instrumental in helping you fulfill your dream," Jasper teased her. A pale hand shot out and Jasper's head snapped forward. He sat back grinning, and Alice's hand hit Victoria in the back of the head.

"Hey, no rough housing in my car," Edward protested, but it was only half-heartedly. He was enjoying the show.

"Guys," I protested when they didn't quit hitting each other.

"Yes?" Alice asked innocently before hitting Victoria again. Victoria spun around, and Jasper was the next to pull Victoria's hair. They ended up rolling around on the floor and seat in a blur almost too fast for me to see.

"You know what," I said. "Quit ganging up on Victoria."

"We're almost to school," Edward commented. They instantly sat back in their seats and looked innocent. One second they were a blur, the next second they were there. It was so funny that I burst out laughing.

"What?" Victoria demanded crossly.

"You guys," I managed to get out before dissolving into giggles again.

"Pull it together, Bella," Edward told me. "Otherwise people will look at you funny when you get out of the car and can't walk because you're laughing too hard."

"I don't know, that might be fun to watch," Jasper said mischievously.

"Don't you dare," I warned him, turning to glare. I knew that my eyes had turned black.

"Okay, okay, I won't," Jasper said. "Calm down, Bella."

"We're here," Edward said. I turned around, picked up my bag, and climbed out of the car, closing the door behind me.

"We're off to see the secretary, the Wonderful Secretary of the School," Alice sang quietly to the tune of "We're off to see the Wizard" from The Wizard of Oz. I turned to look at her quizzically.

"I watched that movie last night," she explained with a smile.

"Why would you watch that movie the night before school starts?" I asked.

"Because she thinks the munchkins are cute," Edward answered. He ducked to avoid Alice's hand as it shot forward to hit him in the back of the head.

"Humans," I hissed under my breath so they would hear, but the humans wouldn't.

"I don't think they're cute," she hissed at him, ignoring me.

"Oh yes you do," Edward said with a grin. He tapped his head. "I know all, remember?"

"I hate you," Alice informed him.

"I love you too," Edward said with a grin. He took my hand, and we walked towards the front of the building.

"Look, new kids," I heard a girl whisper to her friend. I tried not to look at her, because I should not have been able to hear her. I was glad that I couldn't blush anymore.

"And so the rumors begin," Jasper sighed.

"What took you guys so long?" Rosalie asked flippantly when we walked in the front door. She and Emmett were standing by the office door.

"I drove a little slower so I could have fun watching the fight in the back seat," Edward told her. "It was quite entertaining, actually."

"What was it about?" Emmett asked.

"We'll tell you later," I promised him as some humans walked past us and into the office.

"Woman secretary," Alice said, "Guys, go get our schedules and make sure they don't need fixed."

"Yes, Queen Alice," Emmett said with a mocking bow. He went in the office, followed by Edward and Jasper, and then the rest of us.

"We're new here," Edward informed the secretary. Her eyes were about bugging out of her head when she saw all of us.

"I can see that," she finally managed to get out. "You're the Cullens, Hales, and Swans, aren't you?"

"I'm Edward Cullen and this is Alice Cullen and Emmett Cullen," Edward said, pointing out Alice. "These are Rosalie and Jasper Hale, and Isabella and Victoria Swan."

"Yes, I have your schedules here," the secretary said. She put them on the counter and spread them out.

"Thank you," Edward said. He handed them out, and we all quickly compared schedules.

"I don't have American History with any of you," Victoria announced quietly.

"Ma'am?" Edward asked, taking Victoria's schedule and mine, since I handed my schedule to him. "Do you think that you could switch Bella and my schedules so that we have American History during third block?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," she apologized. "That's a class for juniors only. You'll have to wait for a few years."

"Are you sure you can't make an exception?" Edward asked, unleashing his eyes. I almost felt jealous.

"No, I'm afraid I can't," the secretary finally managed to say. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I told her, even though it wasn't. "We'll just wait." I grabbed the schedules from her and pulled Edward away. We all went outside the office so that we could talk. Victoria looked worried.

"What if I slip?" she asked worriedly in a whisper.

"We'll know if you start to have problems," Alice assured her. "Wait long enough for us to get there to help you."

"What if I can't?" she asked, her eyes wide in fear.

"You have to try," Emmett told her. "Just wait as long as you can. Ask to be excused, if you have to. Say you have girl problems, or something."

"Like you know anything about girl problems," Victoria snapped.

"No, but I know that's a good excuse for you to get out of class, especially if it's a guy teacher," Emmett said smugly. "Men don't ask, they just tell you to go because they don't want to deal with it."

"I guess," Victoria said uncertainly.

"They do," I assured her. "Most teachers just tell you to go if you say you're having a girl problem. If they don't let you go to the restroom, just ask to go to the nurse. They'll eventually say yes."

"And if they don't, then just leave," Rosalie added. "When somebody comes around with a detention slip, you just say you were having girl problems and had to go to the restroom, but the teacher wouldn't let you. If that doesn't clear it up, then Carlisle will call in and excuse you from the detention. It will be fine."

"What if I can't control myself?" Victoria demanded.

"It's only one class," Jasper reminded her. "Just try your hardest, and we'll come to help. I'm not going to tell you it's easy, because it's the hardest thing you'll have to do on a regular basis, but it is possible. Just keep in mind that these people are all alive and have lives of their own, and that if you drink from them, you will ruin their lives. You will ruin the lives of those who care for them. You will force us to move again, because we'll have to get out of town before anyone can accuse us of being vampires. You will have to live with the knowledge that you took away a child's chance at having a long, happy life. If you think about these things, it will make it easier to resist."

"Hi," a girl said, coming over to our group and elbowing her way into our circle between Edward and Alice, "You guys look new. Can I help you find anything?" She smiled at all the guys, ignoring the girls.

"We're fine," I snapped at her. "We can find our way just fine, thanks."

She ignored me and reached for Edward's schedule, since he was the closest male to her. "Let me see your schedules. I can tell you the best way to get to your first classes."

I linked my arm through Edward's, effectively hiding his schedule from her in the process. "I think we can find our way just fine, thanks," I repeated.

She glared at me, glanced around to see that the other guys were also taken, and then flounced away.

"Protective, much?" Emmett teased me.

"He's mine," I defended myself. "Just because some courageous girl decides to come say hi doesn't mean that I'm going to just let her flirt with my husband."

"Wait, what happened to us not even being able to hold hands because we're ninth graders?" Edward asked me teasingly.

I glared at the girl's back as she dished to her friends who were clumped next to some lockers further down the halls. "That was before I realized just how stupid human girls can be."

My family laughed at me, and we broke up our little circle. Edward and I headed for our first class, his arm wrapped protectively around my waist. People whispered as we passed, but we ignored them.

"Hi," a guy said to me as we passed. I ignored him, but he started following us. "Hey, are you deaf? I said hi."

"Hello," I answered patiently.

"Are you new here?" he asked.

"I'm a freshman," I answered, "So yes, I'm new."

The shock was evident on his face. "You look too old to be a freshman."

"Looks can be deceiving," I told him.

"I guess," he said. He seemed to be debating whether or not to continue talking to me.

"Bye," I told him dismissively. He took the hint and went back to his group of friends.

"Nicely handled," Edward complimented me. "Much better than that girl back by the office."

"I can be diplomatic if I want to," I said with a shrug, "but I didn't feel like being diplomatic with that girl."

"I feel sorry for Victoria," Edward said as we arrived at our first class. "She's the odd member out, and thus she will be submitted to endless flirting."

"I wouldn't want to be a guy who flirts with her," I giggled as we walked up to the teacher's desk.

"May I help you?" the teacher asked. He seemed surprised that we were in the class and not talking outside.

"Do we have a seating arrangement?" Edward asked.

"Alphabetical by last name," the teacher answered. He pushed a paper across the desk to us and we bent over it, searching for our names.

Once we found our seats, which were across the room from each other, we went to sit down. As students trickled in we received several curious stares.

I could tell it was going to be a long day.

* * *

As predicted, it was a long day. By the time third block rolled around, the time when Victoria had a class by herself, I was ready to scream. Edward and I had art during that time. I was grateful that the teacher let us sit next to whoever we wanted to. Edward and I grabbed seats across the room from everyone else. We were relatively alone, with an empty seat on all sides of us.

That didn't last, though, when more students came in seconds before the bell. They sat around us, and we were no longer alone.

As the teacher droned through the first day handouts and information, Edward and I didn't really pay attention. We passed notes back and forth, talking about nothing in particular. Suddenly, Edward stiffened up, his eyes glazing over.

"Edward?" I whispered quietly so no one else would hear. "What's wrong?"

"Alice just had two visions," he answered quickly and quietly. "The first is about Victoria."

"Do we need to go help her?" I asked.

"Yes," Edward answered, "But not because of a human. Apparently her friends decided to check up on Luella a week early. They're going to take a vial of human blood and open it outside the open window."

"That will send her over the edge," I said with a grimace.

"The second vision is about Victoria's friends," Edward said. "They're going to try to kill one of us."

"Who?" I asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure," Edward answered. "I couldn't tell who it was."

"I'll go help Victoria," I said. I waited for the teacher to get done with the handout he was reading to the class before raising my hand.

"Yes, Miss Swan?" the teacher asked.

"May I go use the restroom?" I asked.

"Can't you wait?" the teacher asked.

"No," I answered.

"Hurry back," he said. I jumped up and practically ran out the door.

I found Victoria's class easy enough. I knocked on the door and waited for the teacher to come open it. But I wasn't fast enough. I caught the scent of human blood on the breeze coming in the window. I looked through the little window in the door and saw Victoria stiffen up, her eyes turning a dark black, the animal inside of her rearing its ugly head. I was too late.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the wait, everyone. I'm sure you all know all about the joys of writer's block...

I'll try to have the next chapter up a little faster. Thanks for your patience and continued support of my stories. :)

Until the next chapter,  
Addie


	10. Complications

The door opened and the teacher poked his head out the little opening. "Yes?" he asked impatiently.

"I need to talk to my sister immediately," I said, the urgency in my voice toned down just a little so I wouldn't scare him.

"You can talk to her after class," the teacher said, and started to close the door. I caught the door and held it open. I think my strength startled the teacher, but he wouldn't be phased.

"I need to talk to her now," I insisted, trying not to just rip the door open as I heard a low growl coming from Victoria. "There has been a family emergency."

"Then the office should have called," the teacher said. I saw Victoria starting to stand up, slightly crouching in a hunting position.

"Just let me talk to her," I snapped, pulling the door open. I brushed past the shocked teacher and grabbed Victoria. As soon as my hands were on her arm, she started to snap out of hunter mode, but she still glared at me for getting in between her and her prey.

"I need to talk to you outside," I told her. A low growl was my answer.

"Now," I emphasized. I started to drag her out the door.

"Now, Miss Swan," the teacher said, addressing me, "I don't think-"

"Give me a detention, for all I care," I told him as I led Victoria out. "I need to talk to my sister now, and I'm very sorry for interrupting your class, but this is urgent."

As soon as I had Victoria out in the hall and a little further away from the classroom she, finally, completely snapped out of hunter mode. She looked horrified.

"I didn't do anything, did I?" she asked worriedly.

"No," I assured her, "I got there in time."

"What happened?" she asked, still trying to get her bearings.

"Your friends opened a vial of human blood outside the window," I told her. "They checked in a week early."

"I was doing so well," Victoria moaned.

"It's not your fault," I assured her.

"I can't go back in there," she said. "The smell is overwhelming even out here."

"Let's go back to the house," I told her after a hesitation. "Call Carlisle and tell him to call us in. I'll go text Edward to tell him what's happening. Alice will know too, so nobody will wonder where we went."

"Should everybody come?" Victoria asked as she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.

"No, we can say it's something with our parents," I answered. "I mean, we're supposed to be sisters, aren't we? So Carlisle can say it's something about our parents that doesn't concern the others."

"Got it," Victoria said. She flipped open her cell phone and pushed a few buttons. I pulled out mine and sent Edward a text message.

_Got 2 her n time. Taking her home. C u there. B careful. Bella_

"Such a loving message for your husband," Victoria commented sarcastically over my shoulder as I hit send.

"I didn't have that many characters," I grumbled.

"Carlisle's calling now," Victoria told me. "We're supposed to go to the office and they'll let us go. If they ask, I'm driving."

"But we're really running," I finished.

"You're quick," Victoria teased me.

"Do you need to get your stuff?" I asked hesitantly.

"I should," she said.

"Don't breathe," I suggested. She nodded and went back in the room.

"You can go back to your own class now, Miss Swan," the teacher said with a glare at me.

"Victoria and I are leaving," I told him. "There's been an emergency with our parents. Our guardian, Dr. Cullen, is calling us in right now. You can call the office, if you want to, but they'll just confirm what I just told you. I'm sorry, sir, but we do need to go. Victoria will probably see you tomorrow."

"I'm sorry," Victoria added as we left.

"I need to go get my stuff," I told her. "My teacher thinks I went to the bathroom."

"Hurry," Victoria urged me.

"Come with me," I told her.

"I was planning on it," she scoffed. "Lead the way, little sister."

When I reached my class I walked back in to see everyone working on a drawing project.

"How nice of you to come back, Bella," my teacher said sarcastically.

"I ran into my sister," I told him, motioning to Victoria, who was standing in the doorway, staring at Edward. I saw Edward's lips moving and assumed that they were talking softly. "I need to go home. There are some problems with our parents, and our guardian, Dr. Cullen, has called the office, and we're going home right now to take care of it. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow," he told me. "I hope the situation gets better soon."

"Me too," I told him sincerely. "Thank you."

"Have a good day," he told me. I went over to Edward and grabbed my things.

"Why the text message?" he asked.

"I forgot I had to come get my things," I admitted. "But I figured you would want to know what was happening."

"I read Victoria's mind," he told me. "I knew what was going on."

"Well, I was just being safe," I told him. "I'll see you at home."

"Be safe," he told me.

"You too," I said. I leaned faster than anyone could see and gave him a quick kiss. "See you later."

I left then and Victoria and I went to the office. The secretary wished us luck and signed us out.

As soon as we were out of sight of the school and in the woods, we were running. We made it home in a few minutes.

"We're home!" I called as we stepped in the door.

"Are you okay?" Esme worriedly asked Victoria.

"I'm fine now," Victoria said. "It was hard at school, though."

"Perhaps we should not have sent you to school so soon," Esme mused.

"We'll talk about it tonight, I'm sure," I said.

"I'm sure we will," Esme agreed. "Why don't you girls go hunt?"

"I'd like to stick close to home, if you don't mind," I said. "The club checked in a week early."

If it could have, the blood would have drained from Esme's face. "They're here already?"

"They're the reason why we had to leave," I told her. "They opened a vial of human blood outside the open window of one of Victoria's classes."

"But you didn't do anything?" Esme asked, alarmed.

"I got to her in time," I assured her quickly. "We're all okay, as are the students. But I'd like to play it safe and stay home until we know for sure that it's safe to go out there in small groups."

"Esme?" Victoria asked suddenly.

"Yes?" Esme asked kindly.

"Did you stop anywhere to put gas in one of the cars today?"

"No," Esme answered, confused. "Why?"

"Do either of you smell gas?" Victoria asked, sniffing the air.

Esme and I sniffed, and we gave each other confused looks.

"A little, yes," I said. "Maybe it's from when we burned Luella…" but Victoria shook her head.

"We didn't use gasoline," she reminded me.

"I'm just trying to come up with a good reason to be smelling gasoline," I told her. "Maybe there's some on a car."

"It's coming from this direction," Victoria said. She dropped her backpack next to the door and started walking towards the center of the house.

I dropped my backpack next to hers and followed her. "Why would there be gasoline in the middle of the house?" I questioned. "That makes no sense."

"Maybe it's a heater, or something," she answered dubiously.

"That would be natural gas," Esme disagreed as she followed us, "but we don't have a heater anyway. We don't need one."

"Then what are we smelling?" Victoria asked as she stepped into the very center room in the house.

As soon as we were all inside the room the door slammed shut, and I heard something slam into place outside the door.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed. I went and tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"They're here," Victoria announced.

"Thank You, Captain Obvious," I said sarcastically. "Come help me try to move this door."

"Let's just break through the wall," Victoria suggested as she came over to try to help me.

"We reinforced the walls in this room with steel so that they wouldn't break in case anyone got rowdy," Esme said, obviously regretting that decision. "We probably won't be able to break through."

"What's that noise?" Victoria asked. I listened carefully.

"Fire," I said, and I turned to stare wide eyed at my fellow prisoners. "The house is on fire."

Esme started wringing her hands. "What do we do? We can't be inside when it's on fire. Oh, what do we do? No one else is home!"

"Will it kill us?" I asked. I knew that the only way to finish a vampire included burning it…

"I'm not sure," Esme said. Victoria shrugged.

"Cell phones!" I exclaimed. I reached in my pocket…

And remembered that I had put my cell phone in my backpack while we were running, and so had Victoria. Esme didn't have one either.

"Call the family to you," Victoria suggested.

"Oh yeah," I said, feeling stupid. Suddenly, the fire came under the door and I backed up, but not fast enough. The entire room had been soaked in gasoline, and the floor, walls, and ceiling all caught fire almost immediately. Our clothes all caught on fire too.

"Hurry!" Victoria shrieked.

"I'm trying!!!!" I yelled back over the roar of the fire. I tried to concentrate, and I tried to call the family to me, but the flames kept distracting me. They were hot, hotter than anything I'd ever felt before.

"Did you call them?" Esme shouted.

"I don't know!" I called back. "The fire keeps distracting me!"

"You'd better hope they got it!" Victoria yelled, "Or we may not be anything but ashes by the time they arrive!"


	11. Fire And The Aftermath

**Edward's POV**

School had just let out and all the students were rushing to the parking lot so that they could be the first to leave. It took my family a few minutes to get outside, so we were caught in the middle of the parade of slow moving cars. I put in a CD and Alice, Jasper and I were all "jamming out" to the tunes, like normal teenagers would, when all of a sudden Alice gasped. I saw what she was seeing and turned to lock eyes with her.

"Go!" she urged me. I didn't need telling twice, not once I felt the familiar tug of Bella's gift, the tug that was so urgent that you didn't have any choice but to go. Rosalie obviously felt the same thing, because at the same time we both pulled out of the line of cars and into the opposite lane – the one for the cars going the other direction. We sped down the street, sending cars off the road as they swerved to avoid a head-on collision with us.

"Police," Jasper warned me as we pulled out into a busy street at over 60 mph.

"I know," I told him, having already caught their thoughts. "They won't catch us,"

"What's happening?" Jasper asked. He could feel our panic, and he could feel Bella's gift pulling us home, but he didn't know why.

"That club set our house on fire with Bella, Esme, and Victoria locked inside!" Alice squeaked. "We have to get there to save them!"

"The fire won't kill them, will it?" Jasper asked worriedly.

"I don't think so," I answered as the police lights and sirens went on behind us. I didn't mind – it just gave us a clear path as all the cars ahead of us pulled over. Rosalie and Emmett were close behind us, pulling up beside us as we raced home. The police didn't stand a chance against Rosalie's modified engines, especially when we took corners at insane speeds with our great reflexes.

We lost the police quickly, and Rosalie pulled back behind us as we had to narrow down and take up only one lane again.

I'm not sure how long it took, but the entire time while I was driving, I kept chanting in my head, "Let them be safe. Not Bella. Not Esme. Let them be safe."

Finally, after what seemed like the longest drive of my life, we pulled in the driveway. We left the cars close to the road and ran the rest of the way – it was faster than trying to take the twisty driveway in cars.

The black smoke was pouring out of the house, the flames eating every inch of it, and I foolishly ran up to the door. Emmett pulled me back.

"We can't go in there!" he yelled over the flames.

"Why not?!" I demanded, struggling to get free from his grasp.

"Can we walk through fires?" he asked.

"I'm going to find out!" I told him as I ripped out of his arms and dashed into the house.

"Bella!" I screamed.

"Edward!" I heard her yell. "EDWARD!!!!"

" Carlisle!" I heard Esme yell, and I heard Carlisle come in behind me.

"Where are they?" he asked urgently.

"This way, I think!" I told him, still yelling. The fire was deafening, and it was hard to even think over and above the noise and heat. I listened for Esme and Victoria's minds, and found the door to the room they were in blocked by heavy steel bars that were bolted to the wall. Carlisle and I tried to rip them off the wall, but they wouldn't budge.

"We can't get through!" I called.

"I'm here!" Emmett announced. Together, the three of us were able to pull the bars off. We all listened to Bella and Esme shrieking and Victoria yelling at them to pull it together, and that just made us pull harder.

Finally, we were able to open the door, and the flames inside the room grew bigger as they received more oxygen. Carlisle ran into the room, and pushed Esme out the door first. Victoria was next, and Bella was last. All three seemed weak, so Victoria made it to the door with Emmett's help, and Carlisle helped Esme out. I was helping Bella out when suddenly someone grabbed me from behind.

"No!" Bella screamed. She tried to punch the vampire, but the vampire who attacked was gone before Bella's fist even made it halfway towards their nose.

"Get us out of here!" Bella commanded.

"No!" I yelled back, "I'm going to find them and rip them to pieces!"

"Not now!" Bella begged. "Not in the house while it's on fire. Do it later!"

"Emmett!" I yelled. Emmett appeared again, and I handed Bella off. "Take her outside. I'm going to go find the vampire who just attacked us!"

"I'm coming back in to help!" he shouted back, and took Bella.

"NO!" Bella screamed. I gave her a quick kiss and then took off towards the middle of the house, after the other vampire.

* * *

**Bella's POV**

"NO!!!" I screamed. "NO! NO! NO!!!!"

"Calm down," Emmett instructed me.

"NO!" I repeated. "EDWARD! EDWARD!!!!!" I tried using my gift to call him to me, but he didn't come.

"Emmett, put me down!" I commanded. Emmett didn't listen until we were outside.

"Are you okay?" a fireman asked. He grabbed me out of Emmett's arms, wrapped me in a blanket, and let another try to steer Emmett away from the house.

"I have to go back in!" Emmett protested.

"No, you don't. The house is going to fall anytime now," the fireman said. "No one is going in."

"My son is in there!" Esme sobbed. "We have to get him out!"

"It's my brother!" Emmett argued. "I'm going in to help him."

"We'll send one of our men in to find him," the fireman said. "Is he on the first level?"

"I don't know!" I said hysterically. "He went further in, and I don't know where he went!"

"Why would he do that?" a fireman asked.

"He saw someone else in there," I said. "Let Emmett go back in."

"He'll die," they argued, "He doesn't have a suit, and he's not trained. We'll have to go in ourselves."

Two men started towards the house to go in, but a huge crack was heard, and then the house started to fall. I bolted out of the fireman's grasp and started to run towards the house, only to get intercepted by Carlisle.

"You can't go in," he told me in a fierce whisper. "The humans will wonder."

" Victoria can confuse them," I hissed back, jerking out of his arms. I ran, blanket and all, into the house. Emmett came and grabbed me, pulling me back out just as the whole thing came crashing down.

We barely made it out in time.

"Edward!" I screamed. "EDWARD!!!!"

There was no answer. Esme sobbed into Carlisle's chest, Alice sobbed into Jasper's, Rosalie stood staring at the house, too shocked to move. Emmett was holding me back, and Victoria sat on the ground next to the firemen, staring at the flaming pile that was once the house as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Calm down," the firemen ordered me. "We'll comb the ruins and see if we can find your brother."

"No," I sobbed, knowing that they wouldn't find anything but ashes. They sprayed the house, dousing the fire, but it was too late. The house was just a pile of ashes, and Edward wasn't coming back. Edward was gone. I had just lost my husband, my life, my everything.

"No," I sobbed. I sank to my knees, and Emmett let me go. I sat on the ground, rocking back and forth, repeating, "No," over and over and over again.

Time passed. The firemen talked with Carlisle, then the police who came, and the paramedics. They tried to check us over, but Carlisle refused, saying that he would do it himself at the hospital once we were done here. Alice produced three sets of clothing for Victoria, Esme and I out of the back of the Volvo, saying something about how she was going to use them in P.E. at school, but we needed clothes. She practically had to do it all for me because I was too shocked to do anything on my own. After that I don't know what happened. I was too busy staring at the pile of ash, wondering what had gone wrong, and how I could get Edward back. I knew he was nothing but a pile of ashes anymore, buried somewhere within the ashes of what used to be the house. If he hadn't come out by now, then he was dead.

Dead. My Edward, never to smile or laugh or tease me again. Never again could he laugh at my silly fears, or tell me everything would be alright. Never again could he fight with our siblings or tell me exactly what someone was thinking. Never again…

Sometime during the evening, after all the emergency vehicles had left, and all the chaos had died down, I heard Carlisle talking to me, but I paid him no attention, choosing instead to continue to stare at what used to be the house. I think he tried to get my attention for several minutes before finally giving up.

I felt two strong arms pick me up, and I knew it was Emmett. I was too tired and weak to struggle. I had been calling Edward to me with all my strength for the past few hours, but he never came, and I was exhausted. I curled into a sobbing ball and allowed Emmett to carry me to the car.

* * *

**Alice's POV**

We checked into a local hotel, our stay courtesy of the local fire department. We had two different rooms, but we all went into one and sat around, silently waiting for someone to say something. Bella just kept repeating, "No," in a broken voice and sobbing into Emmett's chest, but we didn't count her. We were waiting for someone to say something more official.

"I'm sorry," Victoria finally whispered in a broken voice. She broke down and started sobbing, and I reached over to comfort her.

She jerked away from my hand. "Don't touch me," she hissed. "I don't deserve your comfort."

" Victoria," I protested, but she hissed again.

"Don't touch me."

"We need to figure out where we're going to live," Carlisle announced emotionlessly, cutting off our exchange.

"We just lost our brother, and you are already talking about finding a place to live?" Rosalie asked incredulously. "We're all on the verge of breaking down, and all you can talk about is finding a new _house_?!"

"Rosalie," Carlisle growled warningly. "Don't go there. "I'm just as upset, if not more so, than you are. I just know that life moves on, and they won't pay for us to stay here forever. We need to figure out what we're doing."

"Give us some time to mourn," Rosalie snapped. "We aren't ready to talk about moving yet. We just lost a brother, and we don't want to have to deal with stupid things like where we're going to live!"

"Rosalie!" Carlisle barked, "Calm down and lower your voice!"

"No!" Rosalie snapped. She stood up, grabbed the key to the other room, and stormed out.

"Do you all feel the same way?" Carlisle asked.

"Yes," Jasper answered for everyone. "We just need some time to mourn and accept that we'll never see Edward again. Come talk to us again later."

"Very well," Carlisle assented. He pulled Esme to him and wrapped his arms around her. Jasper did the same to me, and Emmett went to go find Rosalie. Bella still lay sobbing in a ball on the couch, and Victoria was next to her, still looking shocked.

"WHY?!" Bella finally burst out. "Why did he go?"

"He wanted to protect us," Carlisle told her softly. "He thought he would be okay."

"We had an eternity together," Bella whispered. "We had an eternity to live, and now he's gone."

"You have to keep living," I warned her. "Edward would want you to continue living."

"It's not like it matters," she said emotionlessly. "That club is going to kill us all anyway, one by one. I might still be last, but I don't care. I don't want to live for an eternity without Edward."

"Don't say that," Victoria said harshly. "Never think like that. You wanted to be changed, so deal with it. Deal with the consequences of your actions. Sure, lover boy is gone, but that doesn't mean that you need to stop living."

"I wanted an eternity to live with Edward," Bella told her. "But Edward is gone now, and I don't want to keep living if I can't spend my eternity of repeating stupid high school and then going back to college and always moving and never getting to know anyone except my family with him."

"I wanted to spend eternity with James," Victoria snapped.

"It's all because you made that stupid club mad," Bella blamed her, sitting up so she could argue better. "It's all your fault!"

"Do you think I wanted to live after your family killed my husband?" Victoria questioned. "Do you think I was happy that my husband was killed so that a single _human_ girl could live? You can say we're even now. We both lost our husbands for the other's stupidity. You're just being selfish!"

"I wasn't stupid!" Bella exclaimed. "I was spending a day with the man I loved and you guys showed up!"

"I was spending a day with my husband, and we hoped to join a baseball game! How was I to know that James would decide to hunt you?"

"You helped him!" Bella screeched. "You helped him hunt me, and then you hunted me later. We aren't even!"

"You're the stupid one who decided to ask me to join this family!" Victoria yelled. "You're the one who made the stupid decision!!!!"

Bella fell silent and looked sad. I knew that she was regretting that decision.

"Maybe you should just leave," she finally suggested quietly.

"That won't stop the others from killing all of you," Victoria told her. "It wouldn't do any good."

"They might leave us alone," Bella said.

"They won't," I told her sadly. "They are after all of us now."

"Perhaps you should both calm down and quit yelling," Jasper suggested.

"There are other people in this hotel," Carlisle said. "We should stop pointing fingers at each other and just accept the fact that we need to work together to prevent anyone else from dying."

"I'm leaving," Bella said. She tried to stand up, but was too weak and fell almost immediately. No one caught her, and she stayed on the floor.

"No, you're not," I told her. "You're staying here. We're all working together, and we're not letting you out of our sight for even one minute. You don't get to try to kill yourself."

"I don't want to be here," Bella sobbed. "I don't want to be alive."

"You're already dead, hun," Victoria told her. "Don't worry about being alive."

"I'll take you to the other room," I told her. I stood up from Jasper's embrace and helped her off the floor. We left and I helped her to the room that Emmett and Rosalie were in. I knocked on the door, and Emmett answered.

"We need to separate Bella and Victoria," I told him.

"We heard," he said. "Bring her in."

* * *

A/N: You all hate me now, yes? Oh well. You should have known it was coming. You did read the preface, after all.

Until the next chapter,  
Addie


	12. Grief and Depression

A/N: Wow, people, I'm sorry Edward got killed. But I promise it will be a happy ending. No matter how depressing it may get in the middle, or even right up until the end, there will be a happy ending. No matter what I do, I can't seem to write a sad one for anything. So don't give up on me just because Edward died. I'll make it happy again. I'm not saying how (so don't ask), but I will make it happy. I have a few twists and tricks up my sleeve.

OK, that being said, thanks to all who reviewed for the last chapter. And all the chapters before that... yeah, I don't thank you guys often enough. So thank you for your support and feedback. Heck, I even enjoy getting called evil, because then I know that people are actually reading my stuff. :P So thanks to all of you, even if you hate me, loathe me, want to rip me to shreds and burn the pieces, or would rather that I not kill off beloved characters.

Now, on with chapter 11. :)

* * *

**Alice****'s POV **

Four days passed. Four days where Bella refused to talk, move, or respond to anything that we said. I took to sitting by her and just talking, but she never responded. She merely stared at the walls. Jasper tried to cheer her up, but it never helped. It was hard on all of us. We knew that she would be upset, but we hoped that she wouldn't curl up in a ball and become unresponsive. Our hopes were in vain.

Jasper told me that Victoria felt extremely guilty. He said that she was almost as sad as the rest of us, and that her guilt was almost as strong as her remorse. As a result, we watched her too, making sure that she wasn't going to try anything stupid.

On the fourth day of Bella's silence I was almost ready to give up talking to her. It obviously wasn't helping. She never responded, and I only had so many things I could say without getting repetitive.

"Do you think it will help her?" I asked Jasper, wanting to know what he thought about me talking to Bella again. I was curled up on the couch with him in the room that Bella wasn't in.

"I'm not the one who can see the future," he teased me, trying to lighten my mood. It didn't work.

"I've already tried seeing it," I sighed, "but I can't see if it will or not. I thought you might know, since you can tell how she is feeling."

"I'm not sure," he admitted. "It might."

"Maybe…" I started, but stopped.

"Maybe what?" Jasper asked.

"Maybe if Victoria apologizes…"

"No," Victoria said from across the room. "She needs to learn that she isn't the only one who's lost an eternal partner. She needs to get over it on her own."

"So much for that idea," Jasper laughed. "Good try."

"How can you laugh?" I asked him sadly. "Don't you feel sad still?"

"Of course," he told me softly, "but I've felt the grief of everyone in the family for four days. Isn't that enough grief for a person to feel? I'll continue to mourn losing Edward for the rest of my existence, but it's time that we all moved on. Wallowing in our grief isn't healthy."

"Try telling that to Bella," Victoria suggested sarcastically.

"Shut up," I told her harshly. "Just shut up. You've created enough trouble for an entire lifetime, and I don't want to hear from you right now."

"Oh, so even you hate me now," she said, throwing her arms in the air. "What did you want me to do differently?"

"Let's go hunting," Carlisle suggested to Victoria. He pulled her out the door, and she didn't protest.

"I'm going to go talk to Bella," I sighed. "Maybe she'll snap out of it today."

"I'll come with you," Jasper announced. "Maybe if we work together we can bring her out of the depression." We went to the other room, and it was Rosalie who let us in. We went over to the couch and sat on the floor.

"Hey," I said, brushing Bella's hair out of her face. "How are you doing?"

She didn't respond. I didn't expect her to.

"I think we're going to try to find a house to move into soon," I said. I knew Carlisle was going to bring it up later in the day. "It's going to be a little smaller than the last one, but it's going to be really pretty. It will be green and have wooden shutters and a wrap around porch, and everybody will get their own rooms."

She blinked. She hadn't blinked in four days. I continued after a glance at Jasper.

"We're going to have to have a room just for Emmett and his electronics," I said, "because he's going to go out and buy every video gaming system he can find. Rosalie's going to have a garage just for her projects. We'll have another garage for all the cars that she's not working on. Jasper and Carlisle are going to share a library, because otherwise they'll have repeats of a lot of books. Esme's going to get her own room just for planning and working on home improvement."

She blinked again, and flicked her gaze towards me for a second before it returned to stare at the wall again.

"And we'll have a room just for rough housing," I said, "Because Emmett and Jasper are going to get in a lot of wrestling matches,"

"What do you want in the house?" Jasper asked Bella. She looked at him, but didn't talk.

"She wants her own walk-in closet full of brand new clothes," I teased her. "All brand name and expensive as they come. She'll spend hours on end in the closet, trying on all the clothes. She'll never wear any of them in public more than once. She'll just save them until the next time the fashions roll around, and then she'll only wear them until she gets all brand new clothes."

The corners of Bella's lips turned up in a sad almost-smile. I smiled at her.

"How are you doing now?" I asked.

"Better," she whispered. "But not much."

"Are you thirsty?" I asked.

"Extremely," she said. "I should have hunted before the firemen even left-" she started sobbing, and I stood up. I helped her sit up and I sat next to her, and Jasper sat on the other side of her. I let her sob into my shoulder.

"Call Carlisle," I told Jasper softly. "Tell him to bring some blood here so that Bella can regain some of her strength. Let him know that she needed to hunt after she called us home, but didn't get a chance to."

Jasper nodded and stood to leave and go back to the other room to get his phone. I cradled Bella in my arms and let her sob, wishing that I could help her more.

Suddenly, I was hit with a vision. I stiffened up and lost all awareness of my surroundings.

_"They have had several days to mourn. It's time to kill another," a woman said. Her back was to me, so I couldn't see what she looked like   
_

_"Do you not wish to let them start to get over it before giving them fresh pain?" a man asked   
_

_"No," the woman answered. "Take another from their presence while the pain is still mostly fresh. It will just make the pain worse that way.   
_

_"Whom shall we take?" the man asked   
_

_"The leader. Let the coven mourn the loss of the leader and try to find a new one. Perhaps they shall get in a fight over who will lead them.   
_

_"And if they don't?   
_

_"They will still have lost the leader," the woman answered with a shrug. "He is the only one besides the girl who is immune to human blood. The rest can be tempted into taking a bite of a human if need be.   
_

_"Then shall we get rid of the girl after we take the leader?" the man questioned   
_

_"No, save the girl for last. She is the reason why we lost James and Luella, and the reason why we were thwarted in our efforts to tempt Victoria into killing another innocent child. She can lose her support one by one, and at the end, we will kill her.   
_

I gasped as the vision ended and looked around fearfully.

"What did you see?" Jasper asked. He was kneeling in front of me, having returned from the other room sometime while I was unaware of everything around me.

" Carlisle," I breathed. "They'll kill Carlisle next."

"He's on his way back with Victoria and blood for Bella," Jasper said. "He'll be here in a few minutes. When will your vision take place?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "I couldn't tell."

"Where did it take place?"

"There was a woman and a man talking in a dark room," I said. "They said to take Carlisle next…" I trialed off, looking at Bella, who was watching me with sad eyes.

"I'm last, aren't I?" she asked.

"I'm sorry," I told her.

"I figured that was what would happen," she sighed. She started to stare at the wall again.

"Don't do that," I begged. "Don't become unresponsive again."

"Why not?" she asked. "You're all going to die soon anyway. It's not like it matters."

"No," I snapped at her. "It does matter. We can stop it. That club may be strong, but they lack that which we have; a bond of love. We can win anything if we work together."

"You're just saying that," Bella said quietly. "You can't see what the future holds."

"Bella, you have to fight them," I begged. "You have to try to win. If we admit defeat before we fight, then we never have a chance to win what could be an easy fight."

"If Jasper got killed, would you want to live for the rest of eternity without him?" Bella questioned without looking at me.

"She would do it," Jasper told her, "because we agreed that if anything happens to either of us, the other won't do anything drastic. We will continue to live for the sake of the family."

"I'm a danger magnet," Bella pointed out. "It would probably benefit the family if I wasn't here anymore."

"No, because you are a member of the family, and if we lose you too, then that will be too much for all of us to handle," I told her. "If we stick together and help each other through our grief, then we will be fine."

"It's all my fault," she continued, ignoring me. "I'm the one who asked Victoria to join us. I'm the reason why we even had issues with James to begin with. I'm the reason why Victoria was mad. I don't do anything except cause problems."

"Never. Ever. Say. That. Again." Esme growled as she entered the room. Apparently she had heard our conversation from the other room, and she had heard enough of Bella's depression.

I was shocked. I had never seen her so mad. Apparently no one else had either, because they all looked just as shocked as I felt. Bella even stopped crying and stared in fear at our mother figure who, apparently, was extremely angry.

"I never want to hear those words out of your mouth again," Esme told her sternly. "Or anyone else's, for that matter," she said, looking each of us in the eye. "I never want to hear any of my children talking about how everything is their fault, or blaming it on anyone else. These things happen. Decisions were made, things have happened, and we need to get over it. No more talking about how any of this is anyone's fault except those who have decided to ruin our lives. Bella, you are not the problem. You do not cause problems. You are more of a blessing in this family than we received for years. You gave one of my sons an experience that he needed, that I wanted him to have. You have brought us joy and we all love you. You are the answer to many prayers from many family members. You will _never_ talk like that again. Do I make myself clear?"

"But I am the reason-" Bella started. She didn't get very far into her sentence because Esme cut her off.

"No," she snarled. "I said you are not to talk like that. Do I make myself clear?"

Bella didn't respond. She just sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head on my shoulder.

"Gosh, Bella," Emmett sighed from across the room, "You're being stupid, just like Edward was. He always said everything was his fault, when it really wasn't. He was so melodramatic. Don't be like that, please. I miss my brother, but you don't need to take his place."

That wasn't the right thing to say to Bella. She broke down again, crying as hard as she could. I pulled her closer for a hug and glared at Emmett. "That wasn't nice," I told him.

"She's being stupid," Emmett retorted. "She needs to wake up and realize that not everything is her fault."

"Then whose is it?" Bella demanded. "I've brought nothing but pain to this family since Edward first saw me! Just ask your wife over there! She'll tell you!"

"Enough," Carlisle commanded as he slipped in the door. He handed Bella a plastic blood bag full of animal blood. She accepted it with a glare.

Carlisle turned to look at Emmett. "Leave her alone. She's been through a lot, and she needs to hunt because she's weak. She'll be in a better mood once she has hunted."

He looked at me next. "I can tell by the way everyone is looking at me. You saw something. What did you see?"

"They're going after you next," I whispered.

"How?" he asked.

"I'm… I'm not sure," I answered. "I didn't see it happening; I only saw the conversation between a lady and a man. The lady ordered that you should be the next one that they kill."

"The second you see anything else, tell us," he commanded.

"I will," I promised.

"Now, Bella," Carlisle sighed, "I'm glad to see that you're up and responding. We were getting worried about you."

"I know," Bella responded. "I'm sorry."

"Just don't do it again," Carlisle commanded her. Bella nodded meekly.

"As for the rest of you, I think we're ready to look for a house."

" Alice has already seen it," Emmett offered.

"I have," I confirmed when Carlisle looked at me. "I even know where it is."

"Can you give me the address?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded. "I'll write it down for you once we're done talking."

"Thank you," Carlisle said. " Victoria, come in here, please. No hiding in the other room while we're having a family meeting. I don't care how mad you and Bella are at each other."

"Fine," Victoria sighed. She was at the door a second later, and Carlisle let her in. She went to the farthest corner away from Bella that she could.

"Now," Carlisle said, "We need to talk. I know that we're all upset about Edward. But we need to move on and do something. We're not helping anything by staying in these two rooms all day long. If we can, we're going to go to our new house tonight. Everyone is starting school again in a few more days." Bella opened her mouth to protest, but Carlisle cut her off. "Yes, Bella, even you. Wallowing will not help you. We're going to go back to work and school, and we're going to try to get over it. Edward was an important member of the family, but if we allow our grief to rule us, we'll just be an easy target for those who hunt us. We need to work together, forgive each other," he glanced between Victoria and Bella, "and give this club a challenge that they won't soon forget. I refuse to allow them to kill anyone else. The only way to win is through cooperation. Does anyone have any questions?"

"No," we all answered.

"Good," Carlisle said. "Does anyone have anything to add?"

"If they do manage to kill you," I said, and everyone turned to glare at me for even suggesting it, "then we need to know who will take your place as our coven leader. They hope that we'll fight over who gets the position."

"Esme," Carlisle answered. "She is your mother, and she will be in charge, just in case anything should happen. But we won't let anyone else die. Do we all agree on that?"

"Yes," Rosalie answered. "We're all being stupid, with all this fighting."

"Let's go to our new home," Esme suggested. "I think we all need our space and some fresh air."

"I'll go talk to the person who is selling it," Carlisle said. He motioned for me to follow, so I left Bella to lean on Jasper as she drank the blood Carlisle had brought her and I stood up to follow Carlisle into the other room.

* * *

A/N 2: Just in case any of you are having problems uploading chapters and are wondering how I'm doing it, send me a message or tell me in your review, and I'll tell you how I'm doing it. It's not too complicated. I just don't want to type it out right now because I'm running late... 

Anyway, until the next chapter,  
Addie


	13. Misfortune In Shopping

**Bella's POV**

* * *

"Bella," Jasper asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" I questioned softly.

"Are you going to lapse back into your depression?" he asked.

"I would like to," I told him truthfully, "because that's easier than trying to deal with the pain. But I doubt you guys will let me, so probably not."

"Good," he said. "It was not fun having to deal with your emotions."

I grimaced. "I'm sorry. That had to be hard on you. This whole thing had to be hard on you. We're all so upset…"

"I'm used to it," he told me, "but it does make it easier if you aren't curled up in a little ball, just letting your grief consume you."

"I'm sorry," I repeated again. I sighed and leaned on his shoulder, too tired to keep my head up. Jasper responded by putting his arm around my shoulder in a friendly, brotherly sort of way. I tried not to think about the last time I had to lean on someone, and who that someone had been. It hurt to think his name, to think of his face, to imagine his voice or his eyes or to think of anything related to him. Silver cars, Volvos, meadows, lions… come to think of it, anything and everything reminded me of him. I just wouldn't be able to think much…

"Did the blood help?" Jasper asked, cutting off my train of thought. I didn't care.

"Not much," I answered. "There wasn't very much there."

"We'll take you hunting soon," he promised.

"I know," I sighed, and tried not to start dry sobbing again. _He_ had been the one to teach me how to hunt.

"You know, Edward-" Jasper started, but stopped when he felt the fresh wave of pain consume me, "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I shouldn't say his name. I know it hurts. _He_ would want you to move on. He wouldn't want you to cut yourself out of life just because he isn't here."

"Maybe he's an angel," I said. "Maybe he's watching over us."

"Maybe," Jasper said hesitantly. I knew how they all felt about the topic of vampires having souls.

"I know we have souls," I said. "And I know that he went to heaven."

"If he is an angel, and he is watching us, do you think he would want you to spend your time staring at the wall, not moving or responding?" Jasper asked.

"Probably not," I answered. "He would want me to move on and live to the best of my ability."

"Then take his advice," Jasper suggested. "Don't do this to yourself."

"I'll try not to," I told him.

"Don't try, just do it," he said.

"I'm sure you of all people know how hard that can be," I told him.

"We'll all help you," Jasper promised me. "We all have to help each other. There's ways that you can help us that no one else can. It's the same for everyone. We all have things that we can do for each other that no one else can."

"Carlisle can keep his head and not lose it like the rest of us," I said.

"Then he can use his calm to help take charge and calm the rest of us down," Jasper added. "Esme is very loving and nurturing. She automatically helps everyone just like that." He smiled over his shoulder at Esme, who was sitting at a table.

"Emmett has a good sense of humor," Rosalie jumped in. She came to sit next to use on the couch.

"Rosalie's good to talk to," Emmett said as he came over to lean on the arm of the couch, choosing not to crowd us any more than we already were.

"Alice is always so happy and bubbly," I pointed out.

"Jasper's knack for helping is rather obvious," Emse said from across the room. I turned to see a slight smile on her face.

"He's good to talk to, as well," I said. Jasper gave me a little squeeze, like a little one-armed hug.

"Victoria can confuse us into forgetting whatever made us sad," Emmett joked.

"Or she can make us mad at her and we forget that we were sad," Rosalie added.

"Leave me alone," Victoria said sullenly from the corner.

"We're just joking," Jasper told her. "You're another one who's good to talk to. You can be very wise when you aren't mad."

"And Bella just has a very backwards way of thinking of things," Emmett finished. "She can be very entertaining."

"So as long as we stick together and help each other, we'll make it," Jasper finished. "But we all have to try together."

"I know," I told him. "I'll try."

"Good news," Carlisle announced as he entered the room again. "We can move in tonight."

"Really?" Esme asked. "This soon?"

"We told them that we were looking for a home because ours burned down, and they hurried through the paperwork so that we can move in," Carlisle said. Alice slipped in the door behind him and came to sit next to us on the couch.

"How are you doing?" she asked me quietly.

"Better," I answered truthfully. "Your husband is very good to talk to."

"I know," she answered. She gave him a small smile, which he returned.

"Bella needs to go hunting," Jasper announced.

"I'll take her," Alice offered. "Somebody else should come too, just in case."

"The rest of us will stay here," Carlisle said. "We don't really have anything to do before going to the new house."

"We'll have to go shopping once Bella has regained her strength," Alice said mischievously.

"No," I moaned.

"Oh, come on, Bella. You don't have any clothes. The ones you're wearing aren't even yours!"

"I'll just wear these for the rest of my existence, thank you very much."

"We're going shopping once you get back," Rosalie told me, taking Alice's side, of course. "But this time it will be more for necessities than pleasure, so it won't be quite as bad."

"Fine," I grumbled.

"Good!" Alice exclaimed. "Now, let's go hunt!"

Hunting was difficult, for me at least. I wasn't strong enough to stand up, let alone run, so Victoria confused everyone in the lobby while we ran out the door and into the woods not too far away. Jasper was carrying me. Emmett wanted to come, but we convinced him to stay behind with Carlisle, since Carlisle was the next target, and I was the last. So that left Alice, Jasper and I to hunt, while everyone else stayed to help protect Carlisle.

I tried to call some animals to me, but I was even too weak for that, so the first few animals were brought to me by my siblings. After the first three, I was able to run, so run I did. I took down several more animals before I began to feel even slightly normal. But I knew I wouldn't ever feel full again. Edward had left a hole in me, a hole that I would never be able to fill, no matter how much blood I drank, or who I knew. So after awhile, I just stopped.

"Are you done?" Alice asked me as I ran to join her and Jasper.

"Yes," I answered. "I'm done. Let's go before the malls close."

"Yes!" Alice cheered, but it wasn't as enthusiastic as it might have been before. I tried to smile, but it ended up more like a grimace, so I stopped quickly.

"Took you long enough," Rosalie greeted us as we walked back into the hotel room.

"Hello to you too," I told her.

"Let's get going," She answered, "The mall closes in five hours."

"That's plenty of time, I think," I said.

"No, it's not!" Rosalie protested. "Come on, let's go!"

We rode to the mall in silence. I refused to ride in the Volvo, choosing instead to go with Carlisle and Esme in the Mercedes.

When we arrived at the mall, it was packed. Victoria looked panicked.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Alice assured her. "We won't let you do anything."

"You'd better not," she warned us.

"You'll be fine," I said. I gave her a timid smile, hoping that she would take it as an apology. She didn't. She turned away, acting as if she hadn't heard me.

"Let's go in," Rosalie prompted us.

"We'll meet back here at closing time," Carlisle said. "Everybody be sure to get enough clothes to last you at least two weeks, and make sure that you have everything else that you'll need, like for school."

"Yes Dad," Emmett said obediently.

Rosalie didn't even say goodbye to anyone, she simply started pulling Emmett away. Carlisle and Esme went in another direction, and the rest of us headed for the nearest clothing store with both men's and women's clothing.

"Stay with me," Alice told Victoria. "I'll know if we need to do something to keep you in control."

"Do you mind if I stay with you too?" I asked.

"Nope!" Alice exclaimed. "I have to help you pick out clothes, anyway, or you'll end up with only clearance stuff."

"I don't see the point in spending $60 on a pair of jeans," I protested as Alice pulled us farther into the store. Jasper went to the men's side, looking relieved as he went. I got the feeling that he didn't like shopping with Alice much more than me.

"Silly Bella," Alice sighed. A fresh wave of pain tore through me as I remembered that was what Edw… _he_ used to call me.

Jasper was by my side in an instant and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. I felt a wave of calm spreading through, battling the pain.

"I'm sorry!" Alice exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Bella, I didn't… I mean, I… I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," I told her softly. "I'm going to go shop in the clearance section."

"Bella," she whined.

I ignored her. "Thank you," I told Jasper. He gave me a nod and went back to the men's section, leaving me to escape to the back of the store.

But the clearance section didn't help. There was a khaki skirt, the same kind as I wore that day after the meadow. Then there was a blue shirt, the same color that Edward liked so much on me. Then there was a shirt almost identical to one that Edward had complimented me on once.

Everywhere I turned, there was another article of clothing or sign that reminded me of Edward. Another reminder of what I had lost. Another memory that would plague me for eternity, or at least until the club killed me too.

When Jasper found me in the back of the store, I was curled into a ball and rocking back and forth staring straight ahead. He sighed and knelt down next to me.

"It's too much, isn't it?" he asked.

I nodded.

"I'll take you back to the hotel," he promised. He held out a hand to help me up, but I didn't take it.

"Bella?" he asked concernedly.

"I can't handle it," I whispered.

"Are you okay?" someone, a human, asked.

"Our brother just died when our house burned down," Jasper explained quietly, "and she was the closest to him. We had to come get clothes, but I don't think she was ready yet."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the person said. "Can I help with anything? Do I need to go get your parents?"

"No thank you," Jasper said. "I can take her home."

"Are you sure?" the lady asked.

"I'm sure," Jasper answered. "Come on, Bella, up you come." He picked me up from behind and guided me towards the front of the store by placing a hand on the small of my back. I let him guide me, trying not to think about anything that surrounded me.

"Alice, I'm taking her back to the hotel," Jasper said as we passed our sisters. Alice nodded sadly.

As soon as we were out of the store Jasper had his cell phone out. He called Carlisle's phone.

"I'm taking Bella back to the hotel," he said once Carlisle picked up. He listened for a second, and then said, "No, she wasn't ready yet. Alice is going to pick up clothes for us." Another pause to listen. "We'll run. I only have one set of keys right now, and we aren't taking that car." Another pause. "We'll be fine. We'll meet you there."

He hung up as we exited the mall. He steered me towards the back of the parking lot, and then we started running once we got to an area where there were trees to cover our exit. He had to pull me along, because I didn't want to move. I just wanted to curl into a ball again.

Finally, I came to my senses. I tore my hand out of Jasper's and started running in the opposite direction.

"Bella!" Jasper called, but I didn't turn back. I ran as fast as I could towards our old house.

"BELLA!" Jasper yelled when he figured out where I was going. "I don't think this is wise!"

"I don't care!!!!" I yelled back. "I'm going to go look, just to make sure!!!"

"Bella, this isn't a good idea!" he told me.

I ignored him.

When I reached the house, or what used to be the house, I stopped at the edge of the charred remains. Random pieces of the house, all partly or mostly charred, lay strewn about the area, having fallen there during the fire before getting soaked by the firemen so they could no longer burn.

I stepped cautiously into the ashes and the wind created by my feet kicked them up, and leaving a trail of dust in the air to mark my passage. I slowly wandered through the ashes, looking for something, anything, that might give me a hint that he was still alive. Anything that would tell me there was a chance.

Jasper followed behind me. He already knew that I would lapse back into the depression if I didn't find something good, and he was ready to catch me, both emotionally and physically, should the need arise.

I combed through the ashes for close to an hour, moving slowly so that I wouldn't kick up too much ash. I found a few things, none of which were important. The melted puddles of plastic and wires in the area where the living room had been were the controllers for Emmett's gaming systems. A marble counter remained in the area of the kitchen. A charred and melting cell phone, mine, was all that remained of my school things that had been in my backpack by the door.

Somehow, miraculously, Carlisle's cross was still in tact, even if it was slightly charred. I picked it up and held it, hoping that if it survived, that Edward had too.

Then I saw it. It was mostly buried, but the gold glinted up at me, catching the light, and my eye. I bent down to pick it up.

It was Edward's wedding ring. I frantically dug through the ashes, hoping to find Edward buried there, but there was nothing. His ring was the only thing left.

"No," I sobbed, falling to my knees. "No, no, NO!!!!!"

That's when Jasper came in. He put a comforting hand on my shoulder and tried to send me waves of calm.

I leaned down, putting my forehead in the ash, and cried. I wished very much that I could cry tears, thinking wistfully that perhaps if I could cry tears and make the ashes wet again that they would reform and Edward would come back. But I couldn't cry, and even if I could, Edward would never come back.

Finally, I'm not sure how much later it was, I let Jasper help me up. He helped brush the ash off of me, and then he pulled me into a hug. I cried into his chest. They were dry, tearless sobs that shook my whole body.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea," he said quietly.

"I had to know," I said softly between sobs. "At least I know now."

"Are you ready to go?" he asked once my sobbing subsided.

"I suppose," I answered.

I let Jasper lead me away from the house, away from Edward, or at least what was left of him, one last time.

I didn't look back.


	14. An Old Friend And A New House

"Oh, thank goodness!!!" Alice exclaimed when we walked in the hotel room. She flew over to meet us, torn between hugging me or Jasper first. She finally decided on Jasper, hurried over to me, and then went back to Jasper.

"We didn't know where you were, you didn't pick up your cell phone when we called, we were worried sick that they had changed their minds and gotten you, I couldn't find you in any visions, I was about-" she cut off when she properly saw me for the first time.

"What happened?" she asked in alarm, her eyes glancing back and forth between the ashes on our clothes and the dead look on my face.

"Bella went back to the house," Jasper explained. "She's the one who made the decision, so that's probably why you didn't see it. My cell phone didn't ring, or I would have answered it."

"Oh, I called Bella's…." Alice said, "but I guess her phone got ruined in the fire, didn't it?"

I nodded.

"What are those?" Alice asked, noticing the things in my hands for the first time.

"Things I found in the ashes," I answered emotionlessly. Carlisle had come over to join us, and I wordlessly handed him the cross. He accepted it delicately, reverently, and looked up at me with gratitude in his eyes.

"Thank you, Bella," he said. I nodded once.

"What's-" Alice started to ask, but stopped when she realized that the other object was Edward's ring. "Oh, Bella, I'm so sorry."

"Do you have a necklace?" I asked.

"Here," Rosalie said. She appeared next to me and held out a single gold chain.

"Thank you," I said quietly as I took it from her. I slipped Edward's ring on it, and then my own, before putting it around my neck.

"How are you doing, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Fine," I lied. I could tell that they didn't believe me. "When do we leave?"

Carlisle exchanged a glance with Jasper, and Jasper shook his head, telling him that I wasn't okay. Carlisle didn't press the matter, though, he just answered my question. "Within the hour."

"Okay," I answered, my voice emotionless and flat. Alice looked at Jasper in alarm, and I saw him shake his head.

"I'm going to go wait on the balcony," I said, and pushed through the crowd known as my family. They didn't stop me.

"That's exactly how she looked the first time that he left," I heard Alice tell our family. I didn't care. They could worry all they wanted, but in the end it didn't matter. They were all going to die soon. I was going to die once they were all dead. That was how it was going to be, and nothing I could do would stop it.

Not that I wanted to stop it. Life wasn't worth living if I didn't have Edward.

I sat down and curled into a ball, resting my chin on my knees, with the rings on the chain around my neck in my hands, which were in my lap. As I stared at the landscape through the railing without really seeing the beautiful mountains and other natural features, I heard a voice in my head.

"_I love you, Bella,"_ Edward's voice said, but it wasn't really his voice. It was dull, flat, and emotionless; just like my current state. It was a memory of him, tainted by my mood.

"_I love you too,_" the me in my memory said with a giggle. "_I'll always love you forever._"

"_Forever is a long time_," Edward warned me.

"_Are_ _you saying that you won't love me forever_?" I had asked worriedly.

"_No, no, nothing like that_," Edward had hastened to assure me. "_I'm just warning you that forever is too long for even me to comprehend, and I've been alive longer than most people. You're still twenty two_."

"_I'll love you as long as I shall live_," I said, giving him a kiss. "_We have eternity to be together, and I'm planning on loving you for every second of every day of eternity_."

"_I'll always be with you for eternity, so long as you want me to be here with you_," Edward had promised.

"But you lied, Edward," I whispered to the wind. "You lied, because eternity hasn't even started yet, and already you're gone, never to return to me. You broke your promise."

The door behind me leading into the hotel room opened, but I didn't bother turning around. I was sure it was one of my family members coming out to comfort me, to try to pull me out of the depression I was spiraling down into before I was so far gone that they couldn't pull me out again. I didn't want to deal with it, so I didn't turn around.

But when whoever was outside with me didn't speak for several minutes, I grew curious. I peeked over my shoulder to see Victoria standing there, leaning on the wall, staring at the landscape.

"It's a beautiful sight, isn't it?" she asked without looking at me. I turned back around to actually look at it this time. I took in all the different angles and colors and shapes that make the landscape what it is.

"I suppose so," I sighed, "though I'm having issues finding the beauty in anything right now."

"I know what you mean," Victoria said. She moved forward to sit next to me. "It was the same for me."

"Are you trying to pull me out of my depression?" I asked bluntly turning to look at her. "Because I don't want to get over it yet. I want some time to wallow in my grief and mourn my husband."

"I'm not," Victoria assured me.

"Good," I said, and then turned back around to stare unseeingly at the landscape once again.

"You know, I never thought it would be this hard," Victoria said, almost as if she were talking to herself. "Starting over with a new life. I thought I could outrun my old one. I thought that I could just leave it behind and start anew, getting rid of all the monsters in my closet and the horrible things I have done. But just when I start to really love my new life, just when it starts to get easier, something has to happen. I just wish that it didn't involve you this time around."

"This time around?" I echoed.

"It happens every time I start to get comfortable with my life the way it is," Victoria said. "The first time it happened, my father died. The second time, we had to move because my brother couldn't live on a farm due to what I now know was asthma. Another time I got bit by a vampire, and then I was left to die in the street because he was too cowardly to come back and help me. More recently, James was killed. Then I came to kill you, and I was happy with that choice, but you stopped me, and I became part of this family. Now, this is happening. I just wish that it didn't involve all of you this time. My problems shouldn't affect everyone else."

"We'll help you get through it," I said, but she could hear that I didn't really believe it.

"I'm not sure you can," she said. "We're up against a powerful enemy."

"I know," I whispered.

"You're doing better than I was," Victoria told me. "At least you aren't off trying to find and kill the people responsible. I had no better reason to kill you than that you were in the wrong place at the wrong time, and my husband couldn't just leave you be. Your family did nothing to deserve this, and yet you don't run off in a rage to go kill Edward's murderer, and you're still at least civil with me."

"If I ever come face to face with any of the club, they will die," I vowed. "But if I'm outnumbered, and everyone else is dead, then I probably won't fight at all. I'll just let them kill me too."

"I am sorry," Victoria finally said. "I am sorry for everything that I have ever done to you, every mean thing I've said, and every problem I've caused. Your family deserves much, much better than that."

"Our family," I corrected her. "Families stick together. You're part of the family now, and that's never going to change."

"I'm thinking of leaving, after this whole mess is over," she admitted. "If I'm still alive, that is. You guys don't deserve having to help me through this stuff every time I get comfortable with this life."

"You can't leave," I told her. "Call me selfish, but I don't want to be the only odd one out. At least if you're here, then I have somebody to talk to while everyone else is coupling off."

"We'll see," she said. "We may not have to worry about it because we may not be alive."

"I know," I said.

"So, does this mean we forgive each other?" Victoria asked.

"Yes," I said, turning to look at her. "It does. I'm sorry I was so rude earlier."

"The same goes for me," she agreed. "Let's just forget about it and be friends again."

We stood up and hugged. I held on a little longer than was necessary, but she didn't mind. She was hugging me just as hard as I was hugging her.

"How are things going out here?" Emmett asked as he popped his head out the door. "It doesn't sound like you two killed each other yet…"

I gave a breathy laugh, a pathetic attempt to sound happy as I pulled away from Victoria. "We're fine. We forgive each other."

"Then we're ready to leave," Emmett said. "Are you two coming?"

"Yes," we answered together.

Once in the parking lot we split up into the different cars. I went in the Mercedes again. I didn't think I could handle the Volvo just yet.

When we arrived at our new house Carlisle and Esme went to talk with the realtors and the rest of us waited outside.

"Bella?" Alice asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" I asked.

"I… we… this was…"

"Just spit it out, Alice," I told her warily.

"This was in the Volvo," she said, handing me an envelope. It had my name in Edward's elegant script on the outside, and I looked at her, confused.

"He put it in his car two weeks ago, but I didn't, and still don't, know what it is." She explained. I took it carefully and held it in my hands, trying to decide if I could open it or not.

"Are you going to open it?" Emmett asked impatiently.

"I'm not sure I can," I admitted.

"Wait until we get inside," Alice advised. "That way if you break down, then we don't have to answer any questions."

"Okay," I agreed.

"But I want to know what it is," Emmett whined.

He shut up when everyone glared at him.

"I may not want to share it," I said. "After all, it's addressed to me, not everyone else."

"I hope you enjoy the house," the previous owner said as the adults all came out of the house. We all exchanged looks before going over to meet our parents.

"Have a nice day," Carlisle told the humans. They shook hands with Carlisle and Esme and then left.

"Let's go in," Esme suggested. We all filed in behind her.

"It's not as big as the old one," she said, "But we have enough room. Everyone who wants their own bedroom can have one."

"Let's explore," Emmett suggested.

"Or not," Victoria said. "I would rather just pick out my room."

"That's the point of exploring," Emmett explained patiently. "That way we know what there is and we know what we want."

"Fine," Victoria sighed.

"Ok, on your marks," Emmett said, "Get set, GO!"

And everyone else was off. Esme and Carlisle smiled at Victoria and I, who hadn't started running.

"I know that you aren't familiar with our new house traditions," Carlisle said, "But if you don't hurry and go stake your claim on a room, then you'll end up with the worst ones."

"I really don't care," I said, "but thanks for the warning."

"Nor do I," Victoria said. "I don't anticipate that we will spend much time there anyway."

"BELLA!!! VICTORIA!!!! GET YOUR BEHINDS UP HERE!!!!!" Alice yelled.

"We're coming," I grumbled, knowing that Alice would hear. Victoria and I started trudging up the stairs.

"These are the only two left," Alice told us when we arrived on the third floor. "Unless one of you wants the really nasty attic, and then there's that."

"I'll take this one," I said, nodding towards the one on the right side of the hall.

"Then I'll take that one," Victoria concluded.

"Okay!" Alice exclaimed. She grinned, and then bounced down the stairs to go do something else.

I went into my room and shut the door. It was painted black, very fitting for my mood. The carpet was cream colored. There was a window directly across from the door, and a door to a bathroom on the left side of the room. I peeked in the bathroom and saw a door to another room, which meant that I had to share it with whoever's room was on the other side. But since I really had no use for the bathroom except to shower after hunting, I didn't mind. I turned to look at my room again, taking in all the details. There was a closet on the opposite side of the room from the bathroom. There was a bed next to the window, and it had a new mattress on it. There were dressers next to the closet, and a desk along the same wall that the door to the hall was in. It smelled very clean, thought I could still smell the scent of the human that had lived in this room.

"Bella?" Esme asked, knocking on my door.

"Come in," I called.

"I have some bedding for you," she said as she opened the door. "I know we don't really need it, but I thought it would be nice to sit on a surface that is a little softer than the mattress."

"Thanks," I told her, accepting the bundle of new bedding. She gave me a smile before leaving.

I dumped the load on the mattress in a pile and studied the bedding that she had given me. Alice had apparently helped her figure out what to get, because it matched my room perfectly. The bedspread was black with large cream colored patterns on it, most of them spirals, circles, and triangles. The sheets were the same color as the carpet, and the pillows covers were black.

"I have clothes!" Alice announced as she waltzed in the door. She dropped about twenty humongous, bulging bags of clothes on my floor and then waltzed out again.

I sighed. I hated moving. It always meant that I had to put things away.

I started with making my bed. I did it slowly, even for a human, so that it would take time. Time that I wouldn't have to think about Edward.

The next thing to do was to put the clothes away. I found hangers already in the closet, and started taking the clothing out of the bags.

I was shocked to see what Alice had bought me. Most of it was black, more gothic than I had ever worn before. But as I studied it, I realized that it was exactly what I wanted to wear. I didn't want bright colors, I didn't want tight, revealing clothes. I wanted my clothing to reflect my mood, and my mood was pretty black at that point.

As I continued opening the sacks, I realized that there were other kinds of clothing too, the kind that I used to always wear. Alice must have seen me pulling out of my depression eventually.

I ditched Alice's gym clothes that I still had on and pulled on a pair of black pants, a red undershirt, and a black hoodie. They were comfortable, and the best part about them was that they didn't remind me of Edward. He would never approve of me wearing such depressing clothing.

It suited me well.

I finished hanging up my clothes, putting the normal kinds on one side of the closet and the goth clothing on the other side. I put some of the clothes, like underwear, socks, you know, those kinds of clothes, in the dresser. I put the jeans in one of the drawers, and the sweats that Alice had bought me for lounging around in another drawer.

Once I was done putting away my new clothing I turned to survey my room again. Making the bed had made it look more completed. I picked up all the sacks from the mall purchases and took them downstairs.

"It's about time you came to join us," Victoria said without turning around. The whole family was sitting in the living room, talking, and Victoria had her back to me. "We were going to come up and…" she turned around and trailed off as she saw me.

"Wow," Jasper said. He turned to look at Alice. "Why'd you buy her that stuff?"

"Because I knew she would wear it," Alice answered.

"You just need to die your hair black and put on the eyeliner and you'll really pull off the look," Rosalie commented.

I simply shook my head. I didn't want to die my hair black, and I didn't want to get anywhere near eyeliner.

"We're having another family discussion," Carlisle said, seemingly unfazed by my change in wardrobe. "Come have a seat and join us."

I put the sacks in the kitchen and went back out to join my family. I sat alone in a chair and curled into a ball so my chin was resting on my knees and my arms were around my legs.

"We need to decide what we're going to do about our situation," Carlisle said once he saw that I was comfortable.

"We need to fight this club," Emmett said. "Can we do a preemptive strike against them in their headquarters?"

"They don't have headquarters," Victoria said. "They just get word out to the members where they are meeting for the next meeting and gather wherever they decide to go."

"So no preemptive strikes," Jasper muttered. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Any war expertise or knowledge to impart upon us, Jasper?" Rosalie asked.

"Not really," Jasper answered, but he was still thinking.

"Do you know who is in the club?" Carlisle asked Victoria.

"Membership rotates," Victoria answered, "and I haven't been there for at least twenty years. I let Luella know that James was dead, and that was the first contact I had with them since I got kicked out."

"Why did you tell Luella?" I asked.

"She was trying to kill me," Victoria answered, "So while we were fighting I told her about James' death to distract her. That's the only reason that I managed to get away."

"So we don't know who we're up against, what powers they have, or how many there are?" Carlisle confirmed.

Victoria grimaced. "Right."

"Alice? Do you know anything that you haven't shared?"

"No," she answered, but she was distracted. Her eyes were closed, and I could tell she was looking for a vision.

"Bella? Did Luella tell you anything else?"

"No," I answered softly. "She just told me that they know everything about us, and that I will be the last to die."

Rosalie started to speak. "Maybe we should-"

She got cut off by Alice. "NO!!!" she shrieked. Her eyes flew open, and she glanced nervously around the room. "They're here!" she exclaimed. "They're outside!"


	15. Death And The Letter

A/N: If you're an easy crier, you may want to go get the Kleenex now...

* * *

"Thank you for announcing us," a woman said as she came in the front door. Victoria stood up and crouched down into a fighting position.

"You," she snarled.

"Me," the woman agreed. Alice glared at her.

"You're the one in charge, aren't you?" she asked.

"I am," the woman said, "Though if you kill me, then that still won't help you. Our club knows who will take my place if I were to die."

"Get out of my home!" Victoria spat. "You've caused enough trouble for this family! They don't deserve your wrath!"

"On the contrary," the woman said. "They deserve every moment of my wrath. They killed James, they took you in, and now they have killed my sister. They must pay."

"You evil creature!!!" I accused her, and lunged from my chair.

I was caught in midair, unable to move.

"Now now," she said, "let's all act like civilized children."

I fell to the floor with a thump once I was unfrozen because I had lost all my momentum. Esme helped me up.

"I hate you," I spat. I could smell Edward on her, so I knew that she had been the one to kill him. "You killed my husband, and I'm going to kill you!" I tried lunging for her again, but once again found that I couldn't move. A growl erupted from my throat.

"We aren't dogs, Isabella, so please stop growling," she said haughtily. "I've come to talk with your lovely family."

"What do you want to talk about?" Carlisle asked warily.

"The order of your deaths," she answered. "We're unwilling to compromise on whether or not you die, but we will compromise on the order that we will kill you in. Is there anyone who would like to be first?"

Everyone glanced at me. I was still frozen, so I couldn't say anything or move.

"Leave us alone," Rosalie told her. "We didn't do anything to you."

"You killed James. You sheltered a traitor. You killed Luella. I count that as something," the woman said.

"I'm going to kill you," I growled, finally finding that I could use my voice.

"If you kill me, then your whole family dies," she told me. "You all know that I have friends outside, and they won't hesitate to kill all you if any of you even lay a finger on me."

"You will die," I vowed.

"Not tonight, Isabella," she said. "Tonight, someone will die, but it won't be me. It could be your leader, or it could be you, if you keep growling at me, but I'd prefer to save you for last, if you don't mind. You're almost entirely the reason why we're here."

Emmett lunged for her, but he froze too.

"My friends don't like it when you try to kill me," she said, turning to stare at Emmett. "I'm not the one who's freezing you."

I focused on a board in the wall behind her. I called it to me, and it came, running into her on its way to me.

She hissed, and her eyes turned black. "You will pay for that," she informed me. Her friends came in the door then, and they grabbed all of us. There were two of them for every one of us.

"Say goodbye to your leader," she hissed. She nodded to the two who were holding Carlisle and they started dragging him out the door.

"No!!!" we all yelled, and struggled to get away, but we couldn't.

"Take me instead!" I screamed.

"You don't get the pleasure of dying until the end," she informed me.

"Carlisle!!!" Esme cried. "Oh, please don't take him!!!"

"Have a nice day," the leader sneered as she followed Carlisle and his escorts out the door.

The other vampires waited only long enough to smell the smoke before they released us. We all tried to attack them, but they knocked us out of the way and left before we could do anything.

"Esme," I said, and went over to her. She was sobbing tearlessly on the floor,

"Go find out where they burned him," I ordered. "See if he might still be alive. Maybe he managed to kill one of them, and he might need help."

The boys and Victoria didn't need told twice. They were out the door before I could blink.

Victoria and Alice came to help me pick Esme up off the floor. We helped her sit down on the couch, and she sobbed on my shoulder. I let her sob, mostly because I knew she would do the same for me. I was itching to go out and see if Carlisle was okay, but my gut feeling told me that he wasn't. He was dead too, just like Edward.

Eventually the others came back. They didn't look happy, and my fears were confirmed. It was Carlisle that got killed.

"We caught one and managed to burn him too," Emmett offered, "but the others ran away before we could catch them. It was too late for Carlisle."

"Who will be next?" Jasper asked Alice. She closed her eyes and went into her trance-like state to see the future.

"I'm not sure," she finally answered. "They haven't decided yet." She opened her eyes again slowly and gazed at all of us. "But they'll come again in a few days."

"I think we all need to be home schooled," Victoria said quietly. "If the police find out about all these deaths in our family they'll suspect something, and they'll want to investigate."

"Good idea," Jasper agreed. "Esme, do you think you can arrange that?"

"I'll call in the morning," Esme agreed after a moment. "Right now I'd like to be alone, if you don't mind." She gave us all sad looks, and me an attempt at a grateful smile, and then ran up the stairs to her room.

I gazed at everyone else in the room. They all had sad looks on their faces as well.

"I'm going to my room too," I said. "Come get me if anything happens."

"We will," Alice whispered. I nodded and followed Esme up the stairs.

After several hours of lying on my bed, staring at the wall, I finally got up and moved around. Something white on my dresser caught my eye.

Edward's letter. I picked it up and took it back to my bed.

I sat on my bed for the next two days, simply staring at the letter in front of me. My family would come in and check on me, but I wouldn't budge. I was trying to muster up the courage to open it.

"You can do this, Bella," I finally said to myself on the second afternoon. I picked up the envelope and tore it open.

Inside was a simple sheet of paper. It smelled of Edward, and I had to stop for a moment to get over my sudden urge to curl into a ball and not do anything again. But I won against the urge, and a few hours after opening the envelope I was finally able to take the letter out.

I was so nervous that I was shaking. I didn't know that vampires could shake, but I was. I slowly, slowly opened the letter.

It was handwritten in Edward's elegant script. I took a deep breath, and then started at the top.

_My Dearest Bella,_

_If you are reading this, then I am probably dead, and I am sorry. Whatever happened, I'm sure I was trying to keep everyone safe, or perhaps I was just overwhelmed by the other vampires. I'm not sure, because while I am writing this, it obviously hasn't happened yet, and I cannot see the future as Alice can. I hope that you are not sad. Life gives us an opportunity to live, and it has given me an opportunity to live longer than I should have been able to. It gave me an opportunity to love you. I cannot be upset that my life has ended, only because I knew you. Even if our time together was short, we did love, and we had everything that we wanted._

_Please don't be sad, love. I know that you will be, but I ask that you be happy for my sake. If you're right, and we do have souls, and I have gone to heaven, then I am watching you, and I don't want to see you sad. I want you to move on with your life. I do want you to miss me, don't get me wrong, but I don't want you to stop living just because my time was up. If you die, which I do not want you to kill yourself because I died, then when you come to heaven I'll be waiting for you. I'll greet you at the gate with open arms, and we'll never be apart again._

_I heard a poem once that I'd like to share with you. It is very close to how I feel. I do not know who wrote it, nor do I remember the title, but I remember the words._

Remember me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land

When you can no more hold me by the hand.

Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

Remember me, when no more day by day

You tell me of our future that you plann'd:

Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to council then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

For if the darkness and corruption leave

A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

Than that you should remember and be sad.

_Better by far you should forget and smile that that you should remember and be sad. Always remember this, Bella. You're too beautiful to be sad for long. While I'm watching you, I want to see you smile. No sad face, no depressing thoughts. Do not do that to yourself. Let Jasper help you, if you must. Let Alice take you shopping to cheer you up. Let Esme mother you until you no longer feel the pain of my passing. Just don't be sad. Please, Bella, for me. It is my dying wish that you smile and be happy._

_I will always love you, no matter what happens or where I am. Heaven, hell, or somewhere between that no one knows about, I'll always love you. I'll always be grateful that you gave me the chance to love you. And I hope that you will always love me too. But if you want to move on, to love someone else too, I don't mind. I want you to be happy, and if you must love someone else to be happy, then do it. I do not want to stop you._

_Please don't be sad, Bella. Life is too wonderful to go through it depressed. Help the rest of the family to get over my death too. If you want to show them this letter, then go ahead and do it. Perhaps it will help them too._

_Just always remember that I love you, Bella, and that I don't want you to be sad. Never let your smile disappear; It's too lovely to lose._

_Love,_

_Edward_

"Bella?" Jasper asked as he poked his head in the door. "Are you okay in here?"

"No," I whispered, "but I will be. Just give me some time."

"What did the letter say?" he asked. I mutely held it out to him. He came in my room, letting the door swing shut, gently took the letter, and then quickly read it.

"Wow," was all he said once he was done. He handed it back. "That's deep, even for Edward."

"How is she doing?" Alice asked as she poked her head in the door. She saw me looking at her, and she gave me a little smile. "How are you?"

"I'll be okay," I answered truthfully, "though it might take a little while."

"We were worried about you," she said as she too came in my room. "Even Esme. She's doing better, but she did know it was coming. You didn't have much warning."

"How's everyone else?" I asked.

"We're all hanging in there," Emmett answered. My door swung open again to reveal Emmett and Rosalie standing in the doorway. "We're just waiting for the next attack."

"Who's next?" I asked.

Everyone exchanged glances, telling me that they knew.

"Me," Alice finally answered. "They don't want me to be able to warn you guys of the attacks."

"That makes sense," I said. "When will they come?"

"Tonight," Jasper answered sadly. He put his arm around Alice and pulled her closer to himself.

"Why don't you all come downstairs and we'll have some family bonding time?" Esme asked from behind Emmett and Rosalie.

"Okay," I agreed, "but let me get changed first."

"Just meet us downstairs," Esme instructed. Everyone left, and my room was empty once again.

I sighed and went over to my closet. I still wasn't in a happy mood, so I picked out another dark outfit. Besides, humans mourned losing loved ones in black, couldn't vampires too? I had lost two family members that I loved very dearly, so I showed my mourning period by wearing my black clothes.

A moment later I was walking down the stairs. I joined everyone in the living room and looked to see what they were setting up.

It was a board game. But not just any board game, it was the game of Sorry.

"You do realize that Emmett gets really competitive and will probably smash the table when he lands on the same square as someone else and gets to knock their piece out of the way, right?' I asked as I sat down.

"We know," Alice answered, "but it's the only game in the house. So we're going to play it."

I could tell that she was forcing herself to be cheerful. I didn't need to feel her emotions like Jasper or see her emotions like Victoria to know that she was terrified. She refused to scoot any farther away from Jasper than a couple of inches. Her grin was plastered on her face, and she looked like she wanted nothing more than to go hide somewhere.

I didn't blame her. I'd be terrified too.

"Okay, let's get started," Emmett said cheerfully as Jasper finished setting up the board.

* * *

A/N2: Game night with the Cullen family is next. It will be happy and fluffy, because even the Cullens deserve a break from all the sadness and depressing events. It will be shorter though, only 725 words as opposed to the usual 2 to 3 thousand that you're used to. I may add two chapters tomorrow, just to make up for the short length of the next two chapters... but I don't know for sure. I'll decide what I'm doing tomorrow.

Until the next chapter,  
Addie


	16. Esme Was

"Sorry!!!" Emmett exclaimed as he knocked my piece off the board. He had landed on the same space as my own, and, as the rules of the game stated, he got to knock my piece back to start. But he wasn't good at knocking pieces back to start, he was just good at knocking them off.

I laughed freely and called my piece to me using my power. "I'm sure you are, Emmett," I teased him.

"Well, no, I'm really not sorry at all," he admitted, "but the rules say that I have to say sorry when I knock another piece off, so I do."

"Your example is a shining pillar for all of us to see," Rosalie said sarcastically.

"Rose!" Emmett protested.

"I still love you," she said, kissing the tip of his nose. "I just don't think we can learn much from you about the rules."

"I follow the rules!!!!" Emmett protested. "I always do!"

"Except when no one is looking," Jasper said slyly.

"Right!" Emmett agreed, and then realized what he said. "Wait!" he protested, "I didn't mean that! He tricked me!"

"Sure he did, Emmett, sure he did," Victoria said disbelievingly with a wink at me.

Emmett gasped. "Oh! YOU tricked me! You confused me!!!"

"Yeah right," Victoria scoffed. "As if I would waste valuable and precious energy confusing you into telling the truth."

"Esme!!!" Emmett whined. "They're ganging up on me!"

"Do you cheat?" Esme asked.

"Oh, now even you don't believe me?" Emmett asked. "I feel so unloved. I'm going to go sit in a corner and cry."

"You can't cry," I scoffed.

"Thanks for reminding me," Emmett snapped playfully.

"You're welcome," I said with a grin, "after all, you just knocked my piece off the table. It was the least I could do in return for the favor."

"Do none of you respect me?" he sniffed.

"We respect you," Alice told him, "we just like making fun of you."

"Of course you do," Emmett said, and rolled his eyes. We all laughed at him.

Suddenly, Emmett stood up and took a bow. "Thank you, Thank you, "I'll be in town until we move again."

"What are you doing?" Victoria laughed.

"Well, you all seemed to like my performance, so I thought I would take my bow."

"Sit down," Rosalie groaned. "You're making a fool of yourself."

"So?" Emmett asked with a grin. "Being a fool is fun."

"So is being smart," Jasper told him. "You might like to try it sometime."

"Oh, you mean like you, Mr. Smartypants? I'll have you know that I have just as many degrees as you do, I just chose to be outgoing and fun-loving."

"And I chose to act intelligent," Jasper said.

"So then leave those of us who know how to have fun alone," Emmett said, sticking his tongue out at Jasper. We all laughed.

"Don't make me come over there," Jasper warned him.

"Bring it on," Emmett challenged him with a wolfish grin.

Jasper dove across the room and tackled Emmett. They went flying backwards across the room and landed on the floor, already wrestling so fast that they were just a blur.

"See? I told you that they'd have lots of wrestling matches," Alice told me with a smug look as we all stood up to go gather around them. I laughed and gave her a one-armed hug.

"That they will," I agreed. "I'm not sure Esme approves, though," I said, nodding towards Esme. She looked torn between cheering them on and telling them to stop.

"Go Jasper!" Alice cheered. That was all it took, and the rest of us were cheering too. Sometimes we would cheer for Jasper, sometimes for Emmett.

"I win!" Emmett cheered as he pinned Japer to the ground.

"Now, that's enough," Emse finally said, though we could tell that she had a good time watching her sons have fun.

"You win," Jasper agreed. Emmett let him up, and they shook hands.

"Now, how about if we finish this game of Sorry?" I asked. "I still have to beat Emmett…"

"Oh, no you don't," Emmett said. "I will be the champion of Sorry."

"As if," I scoffed. "I _am_ the Sorry champion."

"You're going down," Emmett warned me.

"Bring it on," I said, mimicking his voice.

I'm pleased to say that Emmett was not the Sorry Champion...

Esme was.


	17. Losing Alice

A/N: Don't forget that I added two chapters today, so if you haven't read the last one, you need to go do that now. It's happy-ish and fluffy and short, so it won't take long.

* * *

"Let's play again!" Esme urged us.

"I'd like some alone time with my wife, if you don't mind," Jasper said quietly.

"Of course," Esme agreed, understanding what he wanted. "Take as much time as you would like."

Alice and Jasper sped upstairs to their room, and the rest of us sat there and looked at each other.

"I didn't think I would have that much fun," I admitted after a few moments of silence.

"Jasper helped," Victoria said. "Otherwise none of us would have had that much fun."

"I figured," I said. "So, what do we want to do now?"

"It's a slightly sadder activity than we were just participating in, but I would like to know what Edward said in his letter, if you don't mind sharing," Emmett said.

"Okay," I agreed. I ran up to my room and brought the letter back down.

The next hour was spent in silence as we passed the letter around, all of us reading it and then rereading it.

"That was very wise on his part," Esme finally said, breaking the silence.

"He always was a smart boy," Emmett agreed.

"You were lucky that he left this for you," Esme told me. I could see the sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sure Carlisle would have left something," I assured her.

"He knew it was coming, so he told me everything he wanted me to know before he was taken," she said. "Edward did not know when he would die, so for him, a letter was more appropriate."

"I feel so sorry for Jasper right now," I said. "He knows that his wife is going to die soon, and yet there's nothing we can do about it."

"We can still try, but it probably won't help," Emmett agreed. "It's hard for all of us."

"But I feel the worst for him right now," I said. "He knows it's coming, yet he can't be sad because then that would make the rest of us sad too."

"The rest of us don't have to worry about that as much," Esme agreed.

"What are we going to do when they take him too?" Victoria asked.

"Deal with it on our own," Rosalie answered. "Even if it will be hard, we have to try."

"We need to try to stop them," Esme said.

"How?" Victoria asked. "How are we supposed to stop a force that is so much more powerful than we are?"

"We've always beat the odds in the past," Esme said. "We're always lucky."

"I'm a member of your family now," Victoria said sadly. "I never beat the odds."

"We will this time," I promised. "Everything will turn out for the best."

"How can it?" Rosalie asked sadly. "We have already lost our brother and father, and we're about to lose our sister too. How can it turn out for the best if we can't be with our family?"

"There's always heaven," I said quietly.

Victoria laughed harshly. "Even if we have souls, I don't think that I'll be joining anyone in heaven. I've taken too many innocent lives to go somewhere for good people."

"Maybe it only counts for while we were actually alive," I suggested.

"I doubt it," Victoria told me. "I highly doubt it."

"You'll be there," I assured her.

"What if we don't go to heaven?" Emmett asked.

"Don't think like that," I told him harshly. "That's the only reason why I'm not still curled into a ball and not talking."

"You're hopeful, but I'm realistic," Emmett said.

"We're all going to heaven," I said stubbornly.

"Let's not argue," Esme pleaded. "I don't think I can handle it."

"Sorry," Emmett and I said at the same time.

We sat in silence for the next hour. There was nothing to do.

"Just think how boring eternity would be if we never had anything to do," I commented, breaking the silence.

"It would be boring," Alice agreed as she and Jasper walked down the stairs looking grim.

"How long?" Victoria asked, assuming that their grim looks meant that Alice knew how soon they would come.

She was right. "Ten minutes," Alice answered softly.

"How will they take you?" Emmett asked.

"I'm not sure," Alice answered. "Probably the same way that they took Carlisle. They don't want to kill us in front of everyone else just in case something happens and you have a better chance of stopping them."

"I'll miss you," I told her. I went to give her a hug, and she held onto me for a long time.

"I'll miss you too," she finally whispered. "And I hope you're right about going to heaven."

"Me too," I said as we pulled away.

Everyone, starting with Esme, took turns giving her a hug. She finally returned to Jasper's side and he wrapped his arm protectively around her.

"Say hello to Edward," I said softly. She gave me a sad smile to show that she would, if she saw him.

"Carlisle too," Esme asked.

"I will," Alice promised.

"How touching," a voice dripping with sarcasm said from the front door. Everyone except Alice tensed.

"Go away," I said without turning to look at the speaker. "We don't want you here."

"And I don't want you alive, but we can't all get what we want, now can we?" she asked.

"What's your name?" I asked, finally turning to look.

She looked at me, judging me, trying to decide if I was worth it or not. "Adeliza," she finally answered.

"Why are you doing this to us?" I asked.

"Why did Victoria hunt you for so long?" Adeliza asked. "Revenge is sweet, my dear, and I have a sweet tooth that can't be satisfied very easily. The deaths of a strong coven, not as strong as us, but strong all the same, is almost enough to cover it."

"You really are evil," Emmett informed her.

"I know," she said flippantly. "Now, I believe you already know who I'm here for, and I think you know it's fairly useless to struggle, so why don't you let her come with me willingly and we'll give you some time off to mourn her death before we kill the next one?"

"Never," Jasper spat. "We'll fight till the death."

"Your choice," Adeliza said with a shrug. Once again, our house was swarmed with vampires, all loyal to her, and they grabbed us, holding us back. "Take her." Adeliza commanded, nodding at Alice.

"No." Emmett said, ripping out of his captors' grips. He knocked them down, and then moved on to help Jasper.

But halfway there, he froze.

"Now now," Adeliza said mockingly. "Play nice, Emmett. We don't want to take you instead. It will be your turn eventually."

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you," Rosalie spat. She kicked out to disable her captors, but froze as well.

"For a family who has accepted the fact that you're all going to die, you sure are feisty," Adeliza commented.

"We may have accepted the fact that you're stronger, but that doesn't mean that we're just going to lay down and let you trod all over us," Victoria said.

"Silence, idiot," Adeliza said. "You've bothered me for long enough."

"And I'm going to bother you until the day I die," Victoria told her. "You haven't heard the last of me."

"Just take the one we came for," Adeliza commanded, "And leave the rest. We'll come back for another one later."

With a final glare at all of us, Adeliza turned and marched out the door, followed by her minions who had Alice. Alice was struggling, but she couldn't break their grip.

"I love you!!!!" Alice desperately called back to Jasper.

"Shut up," one of the vampires holding her said, and then slapped her. We didn't see it, but we heard it. We all jerked, struggling to get free to go kill the one who had hit her. It was even worse when we heard her tearless sobs, both from the pain and having to leave us.

"Let us _go_!" Victoria commanded. She elbowed her captors, but they didn't budge.

Once again, the other vampires only stayed until they smelled the smoke, and then they let us go. Jasper ran out immediately to go find Alice, but the rest of us fought the vampires that had been holding us.

We killed two, but the others escaped. Jasper came back, but didn't say anything as he passed us and our pile of burning ashes. He went straight to his room.

We didn't see him for another week.


	18. See You In The Morning, Weirdo

"I'm going hunting," Jasper said emotionlessly when he finally emerged from his room. He ran out the door before any of us could respond.

"Oh dear," Esme moaned. "He's taking it much harder than I hoped he would."

"He doesn't have anyone to help cheer him up," I said softly. "Who is he supposed to turn to? He can just feel our sadness, so talking to us wouldn't help him."

"I hope he's better when he comes back," Esme said worriedly.

* * *

But he didn't come back. We knew when we smelled the smoke several hours later that Jasper had been the next victim.

But that didn't stop us from trying to find him anyway. We found his ashes in a clearing, still smoldering.

"Do you think he found them and asked to be killed?" Rosalie asked.

"No, there was a struggle," Emmett answered, pointing to some marks in the dirt. "These are fresh, which means that they must have grabbed him, he struggled, and they ended up winning in the end."

"We'll be gone in another week or two if they keep this up," Victoria said sadly.

"One of us will be next," Rosalie said sadly to Emmett. "We're the only couple they haven't split up yet."

"I wish I could go back in time," Victoria suddenly burst out. "I never would have insulted her if I knew this is what would happen!"

"We all make decisions, and all of our decisions have consequences," I told her. "It's unfortunate that your decision then had this effect, but it's unavoidable."

"If I hadn't made her mad, I'd still have James," Victoria said, "because we would not have come through Forks. You'd still have Edward. Carlisle and Jasper and Alice would all still be alive. Things would be different!"

"Things would be different," I agreed. "We wouldn't be friends. I could have died when someone else came to attack me. Anything could change, and not just the bad events. The good things could change too. So don't wish to change the past. You don't know how it will affect time."

"It's not even possible," Emmett pointed out.

"We're vampires," I pointed out. "Anything is possible."

"We should go back to the house," Esme sighed. "There's no point arguing here."

"I think I'm going to call my family when I get home," I said. "I want to make sure that they're okay and that nothing has happened to them."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Victoria asked. "Won't that lead them to your family?"

"I'm sure they already know exactly where my family is," I sighed. "They know everything else."

"Good point," Victoria said. "Never mind, then."

"Are you going to tell your family what's happening?" Rosalie asked.

"No," I said. "How am I supposed to explain all of these murders without causing them to call the police up here because we haven't? I'll just say that everything is going well."

"What if they ask to speak to someone?" Esme asked.

"They're at work," I answered.

"Good luck," Emmett told me.

"Thanks," I said, "I think I'll need it, if I'm going to make it through a whole conversation without going to pieces."

"You'll manage," Victoria said.

And with that we all ran back to the house.

* * *

"Hi mom," I said when she picked up.

"Bella!" She exclaimed happily. "How are you?"

"I'm great," I lied. "I started working at a small photography shop."

"I never will understand why you went into photography," she said, "but if that's what will make you happy, then I'm happy that you did. How's Edward doing?"

"He's doing great too," I lied, holding back the urge to break down. "He's working under Carlisle at the hospital."

"I'm proud of both of you," my mom said. "Have you heard from the rest of the family?"

"They're all good, too," I said. "We're all hanging in there. How are things with you?"

"Oh, they're fine," my mother said after a hesitation.

"What's wrong?" I asked, instantly realizing that something was wrong.

"There have been some strange people around here at night, that's all," she said dismissively. "Phil put an extra lock on the door, so we're fine."

"Don't talk to those people, okay?" I asked.

"We don't," she assured me. "They asked about you, at one point, and we stopped talking to them after that."

"What did they ask?" I inquired.

"Is your daughter a vampire?" she quoted, and then laughed. "I told them no, and to have a nice day. Vampires don't exist, and even if they did, then we would know if you were one."

"Sounds like they're pretty crazy," I agreed. "I'm sorry that they are there."

"Oh, it's not your fault, honey," my mother assured me. "They're just odd teenagers. They have the strangest eyes…"

"What do you mean?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well, their eyes are a bright red color, and it's really rather sinister looking, but I think that they just wear contacts. I mean, they have contacts like that, don't they?"

We talked for another two hours. I assured her that yes, there were red contacts, and yes, they were probably just some punk kids. After that we discussed anything and everything that we hadn't talked about in the past couple of months. She assured me that they were fine, other than not liking the people outside the house at night. I assured her that I was fine as well, and that I would call in a month or two to check in.

After we hung up I tried Charlie. He wanted to know if the Cullens had any family that could be in town, because there were some people that looked just like us, only they had red eyes instead of the lovely brownish eyes that we had. I said I didn't know, and that I would ask Carlisle when he got home from work. Charlie seemed okay with that, so we talked for a little bit longer, catching up on the small town gossip. He said Jake seemed pretty upset about something right after we moved, but that he seemed better now. I asked him to say hi to Jake for me.

Once the conversation with Charlie was over I tried Mark's cell phone.

"Bella!" Mark exclaimed. "How are you?"

"I've been better," I answered honestly. "How are you?"

"We're… okay," he said hesitantly.

"What's wrong?" I asked warily.

"I'll tell you later," he promised. "How's Edward? Is he treating you okay? I'll come try to kick his butt if he isn't."

"Nobody can kick his butt anymore," I said sadly. "That's why I've been better. We're having some issues here with another group of vampires and they… they…" I took a deep breath, and in my moment of silence Mark finished for me.

"They killed him," he said, immediately understanding. "I'm so sorry Bella. When did it happen?"

"About two weeks ago," I answered.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "Why did they kill him?"

I found myself telling him everything. I briefly retold the James story, then jumped to moving up to Alaska, starting at that part with arriving at the house. I told him about the condition the house was in, the message on the wall, nobody believing me for a week, and Victoria explaining what she had done. I talked about all the events up until three minutes before the phone call to him, talking about everyone's deaths, and then the conversations with my parents. The explanation took several hours, but Mark patiently listened to everything.

"I hope that's not your mom," Emmett joked as he passed me.

"It's Mark," I answered.

"Oh, good," Emmett said, "we're only telling him everything because he needs to know, right?"

"Leave me alone," I said, "It all just kind of came out."

"You're odd, Bella," Emmett told me.

"So are you, so leave me alone."

"Yep, ever the happy family," Mark joked from his end of the phone.

"Not exactly," I said.

"Ok, so are you sure that's all that's happened?" Mark asked once he knew my attention was back on him. "I mean, that's not quite enough to fill a novel yet."

"Ha ha," I said, "That's so funny. So original."

"I thought it was," he joked, and then became serious. "But really, is that it?"

"So far," I answered.

"Wow," he said. "Just… just wow."

"I know; it's hard to comprehend."

"So Edward, Carlisle, Alice, and Jasper are all dead, right?" he asked.

"Unfortunately," I answered.

"And you… wait, did I hear you say that you've gone goth on us?"

"No," I said impatiently, "I'm wearing black clothes."

"So you've gone goth," Mark concluded.

I groaned. "Mark, it's called mourning. Humans mourn in black, can't vampires do it too?"

"Not if you're wearing goth type clothing to mourn in!" Mark laughed, and then started singing, "Bella's gone goth, Bella's gone goth!"

"What?" I heard Angela say in the background.

"Our Dear Isabella Marie Cullen has gone gothic on us," Mark told her with a laugh.

"Yeah right," I heard Angela say.

"I'm serious!" Mark exclaimed. "She's wearing dark baggy clothes and black hoodies and she's got the negative outlook on life down to a pat. She's gone stereotypical goth on us!"

"I haven't died my hair black, pierced anything, or gotten anywhere near black eyeliner or nail polish," I informed him.

"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed. "Well, you're still close enough."

I groaned. "Mark, please, not today. If I'm still alive in a month or two, then you can tease me about it all you want."

"You say it like you aren't expecting to live through this," Mark commented.

"What?!" Angela asked, alarmed. "She can't die! She's immortal!"

"I'll explain once I've hung up with Bella," Mark told her.

"You'd better," she threatened him, "otherwise I'll have to call Bella back, and your parents can pay for that call too."

"Oh, I completely forgot about your phone bill," I groaned.

"Don't worry about it," Mark told me. "I still have that credit card Alice sent me for instances where you won't shut up. She told me to use it if the phone bill was huge."

"And it will be," I assured him.

"Trust me, I know it'll be huge when I have to plug my phone in while I'm still talking because it's dying, and I just charged it a few hours before."

"I'm sorry," I said again.

"Don't worry about it," Mark repeated. "Now, where were we before I remembered that you had joined the ranks of the Goths?"

"You were double checking the list of who had died," I reminded him.

"You're sure that they're dead?" he asked.

"We keep finding their ashes," I said.

"Are you sure that it's their ashes?" Mark asked.

"Yes."

"Do you watch them get burned?"

"No, but we know that the ashes are theirs."

"Is it because of the smell?"

"No, we just know."

"Bella, what if that club is faking it and your family members aren't really dead?"

"Mark, I know they are. We all do."

"I'm just telling you not to give up so easily," Mark said.

"We won't be able to handle getting our hopes crushed," I told him. "We're barely holding together as it is."

"What are you doing to prevent the club from taking you?"

"We've tried fighting," I said, "But it doesn't work. They freeze us before we can get anywhere."

"Have you asked the werewolves to help?" he asked.

"They wouldn't help us," I laughed, "but even if they did, then they'd kill us too once the club members were dead."

"But have you asked?" he inquired.

"No."

"Ask."

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because then they'll get killed too, and I can't handle the werewolves getting killed for trying to defend us."

"What if it works?"

"It won't."

"Are you Alice now?"

"No."

"Then how do you know?"

"I just do."

"You're really arrogant now. You know that, right?"

"I've heard."

"Good. Because you really are. You don't know everything, no matter how much you want to."

"I know that," I told him. "Otherwise, I'd know how to beat the club."

"The werewolves!" Mark exclaimed. "Doesn't anyone listen to me?"

"Hmmm? What did you say?" Angela and I asked at the same time. I burst out laughing.

"Sure, tag team on me, even though you can't hear each other," Mark told us. "Real funny, girls."

"We do our best," I said.

"Seriously, though, Bella, ask the werewolves for help. The worst they can do is say no."

"They will. Jacob hates me now, and he was the only one that even remotely liked me after my change."

"It doesn't hurt to ask, now does it?"

"Yes."

"You're impossible," he groaned.

"You're just now figuring this out?"

"Are all Goths like this?"

"Mark!"

"You started it."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Did too."

"Bananas are yellow."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It doesn't."

"Then why did you say it?"

"Because I wanted to distract you," I answered.

He groaned again, and I could just see him rolling his eyes.

"So you said that something was wrong. What is it?" I asked, changing the subject.

"The same thing that's happening to your mom and dad, only instead of thinking that they're punks or related to the Cullens Angela and I know the truth. We're scared to death that they'll try something."

"How would you feel about spending some time in La Push?" I asked.

"We can't do that, because the werewolves will be in Alaska with you."

"No, they won't, because they'll refuse to help."

"You wanna bet?"

"You're on," I told him. "Be prepared to lose."

"What are we betting?"

"If you win, I'll take you and Angela out to dinner at any restaurant you want to go to," I said.

"If you win, then…" he trailed off, thinking.

"You'll what?" I asked.

"Let's change it," Mark said. "If I win, you have to go around for twenty years saying you are and playing the part of a Goth. If you win, then I have to act like a Goth for five years."

"Only five?" I asked.

"Think about it, Bella. You will live for an eternity. I will live for 100 years, if I'm lucky."

"Fine, you're on."

"Are you ready to go Goth and dye your hair black?"

"Sure, because it isn't happening."

"We shall see, my pet, we shall see," Mark cackled.

"Ok, that's just disturbing," Angela informed him. "Stop or I'll hit you with a slipper."

Mark cackled again, but it came to an abrupt stop with a squeal.

"Abuse! Abuse! Bella, you heard her hit me, you're a witness!"

"Mark, shut up," Angela told him.

"See what I have to deal with, Bella?" Mark whined.

"Good job, Ang," I said, hoping that she could hear. "Keep up the great work."

"Hey!" Mark protested. "I thought you were on my side!"

"Nope," I told him. "Nice try."

"Hey, I need to go, because it's well past midnight, and I have to be at work in the morning, but I'm glad we got to talk," Mark said. "I'll call you again in a month or so to see if you're still alive, and if you are, then we'll discuss our bet. You realize that by agreeing to the bet that you must call the werewolves now, right?"

"I know," I said. "Hopefully talk to you later."

"Good night, Bella!" Angela called.

"Tell her good night," I told Mark.

"I will," Mark promised. "Stay safe, okay?"

"I'll try," I promised. "You too. Let us know if you need anything."

"I will," Mark promised. "Love you, Bella."

"Love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

"Aww, that was sweet," Emmett teased me as I hung up.

"Shut up," I told him.

"It was nice," he said. "You haven't laughed that hard for a long time."

"Mark always could make me laugh, no matter how depressed I was," I said softly.

"It's good that you have him as a friend," Emmett said.

"It is," I said with a faint smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I'm going to go hang out in my room."

"Okay," Emmett agreed. "Don't listen to any punk music, or I'll tell Mark."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You wouldn't."

"I would," he corrected me, "And I will if you do. I have Mark on speed dial."

"You'd interrupt his sleep."

"He'd forgive me."

"I hate you."

"That hurts. A lot."

"Ooops, sorry," I said sarcastically, sticking my tongue out at him.

He laughed. "Just don't listen to anything that I could call and tell Mark about."

"I won't," I promised. "I don't have anything to listen to, CDs or radio."

"Oh yeah."

"Yeah. See you in the morning, weirdo."


	19. Thank Goodness For Phone Calls To Mark

"Darnit!" I exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Esme asked, speeding into the room.

"Jake won't talk to me," I fumed. "He keeps hanging up before I can get anything in except hello."

"Why are you calling Jacob?" Emse asked, the confusion evident on her face.

"To see if they'll help us," I answered. "Mark and I have a bet on whether or not they will."

"I doubt they will," Esme said.

"Me too, but Mark said he was sure that they would if we asked, so I'm asking so I can shove it in his face that they refused."

"Is that very nice?" Esme scolded me.

"No," I said, "But he'd do the same to me."

"Oh, Bella," she sighed.

"Try calling Sam," Rosalie suggested from the next room. "Maybe he'll actually talk to you for a few minutes before hanging up."

"I doubt it," I mumbled. I called the Fork's police station.

"Fork's Police Station, how may I help you?" a bored voice said.

"Mike?" I asked.

"Bella?" he returned.

"What are you doing?" we both asked at the same time.

Mike laughed and answered first. "I got the job of temporary secretary because the real one had a heart attack and she's out on vacation until she's feeling better."

"I was calling to talk to my dad," I said, "but maybe you can answer. I need to talk to Sam Uley down in La Push, and I don't have his number. Do you have a phone book handy?"

"Sure," Mike answered. "Just a second…" he trialed off as he searched the phone book. I waited patiently for him to find the number.

"Thanks," I said once he was done. "It was good to talk to you, even if it wasn't very long."

"Yeah!" Mike agreed. "You'll have to call sometime when I'm not working so that we can get caught up."

"It may be a while before I call," I warned him.

"That's okay, I'll wait," Mike assured me.

"Talk to you later," I said.

"Talk to you later," Mike agreed.

I hung up and then picked the phone up again quickly. I dialed Sam's number.

"Hello?" a deep voice answered.

"Is this Sam?" I asked cautiously.

"This is," he answered. "And you are…"

"Bella," I answered.

"What do you want?" he asked, all civilities out the window once he heard who it was.

"We need help," I admitted. "There's a club, a group of vampires, who are killing us off one by one, and we need help. Would you be willing to help us?"

"What's in it for us?" Sam asked.

"You'd get to rid the world of quite a few vampires," I suggested.

"Not good enough,"

"What do you want?"

"Forget the treaty. If we help you., then you guys can't set foot within 50 miles of Forks ever again."

"That's not my decision to make," I said.

"Then discuss it with whomever you need to discuss it with," Sam suggested.

"He's dead," I said softly.

"That's not our problem. We will not help if it does not benefit us. We will not risk death to keep vampires alive."

"Please, Sam," I begged. Yes, that's right, I was reduced to begging. "Please. These vampires are killing anyone and everyone that I care about, and it's not even my fault this time. They've sent vampires to keep an eye on my family and on Mark."

"We're dealing with the ones in Forks, but the rest are not our problem. Have a good day, Bella."

"SAM!" I yelled, my patience gone. "You're our only hope. Please, I'm begging you as a friend, help us."

"You stopped being our friend when you chose the bloodsuckers over us," Sam told me, his patience gone too. "Do not tell me that we are friends. Isabella Marie Swan died the day that she chose Edward Cullen over her human life."

"Well, I'm Isabella Marie Cullen, so I don't see how that matters."

"You're a Cullen. We don't help the Cullens."

"Sam," I whispered, broken. "Please. I'm begging."

"Have a good day, Bella," he said coldly, and then hung up.

"I won!" I called sarcastically for anyone who was listening.

"Mark gets to be a goth for five years?" Emmett asked.

"I'll tell him to take pictures," I said.

"Poor Angela," Rosalie said, shaking her head. "I'd die if I were her."

"She married the guy," I said. "I don't feel that sorry for her."

"How are you going to make sure he follows through?" Emmett asked.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I'll figure something out."

"You'd better figure something out fast," Rosalie said, "otherwise he'll come up with some way out of it."

"He won't worm his way out of this one," I vowed. "He's tricky, but not tricky enough."

"When will you tell him?" Emmett asked.

"I'll call him now," I said.

"Can we listen in?" Emmett asked eagerly.

"Sure," I laughed. "This ought to be entertaining."

I dialed the phone and then pressed the speakerphone button before Mark could pick up.

"Hello?" he asked.

"It's Bella," I told him.

"Are you calling to tell me that you've dyed your hair black?"

"No, I'm calling to tell you to dye yours, and to invest in several things of eyeliner, and black nail polish, and a new wardrobe, and possibly get some piercings, if you want to do this correctly."

"They refused?" he asked, staggered.

"I told you they would," I reminded him. "Jake wouldn't answer my calls, and Sam told me that they won't risk death to come help vampires."

"But they were your friends!"

"You stopped being our friend when you chose the bloodsuckers over us," I quoted, imitating Sam's voice. "Do not tell me that we are friends. Isabella Marie Swan died the day that she chose Edward Cullen over her human life."

"He actually said that?!" Mark exclaimed. "I should go down to La Push and kick their fat lazy a-"

"Mark," I cut him off. "I told you they wouldn't. I don't expect them to come help us. So you lost the bet, and you have to carry through with the terms."

"Do I have to?" he whined.

"You're the one who set the terms!" I laughed. "Reap the consequences of your actions, and take lots of pictures. We want to see them."

"Who exactly is 'we'?" Mark asked warily.

"Everyone left in the family," Emmett answered.

"Aw, man, you have me on speakerphone!" Mark groaned.

"Yep!" I answered. "Suck it up, you big baby. You set yourself up for this."

"Bella!" he whined.

"What did she do this time?" Angela asked warily.

"She won our bet," Mark groaned.

"I'll take pictures, Bella!" Angela called. "Don't worry, I'll make him keep his end of the deal."

"Tell her thank you," I instructed Mark.

"No."

"Mark," I said warningly.

"No."

"Esme, do we have three way calling?" I asked using vampire speed.

"We do," she answered with a faint smile. She knew what I was planning.

"What was that?" Mark asked suspiciously.

"What was what?" I asked innocently.

"You said something too fast for me to catch it," Mark said.

"I asked Esme a question," I said.

"What question?"

"I asked if she had heard anything. I thought I heard a noise outside."

"Did she?"

"Emmett went to check it out," I said.

"Do you think it's those vampires?"

"I doubt it," I said. "Hey, we have another call coming in, so, uh, hold on a second. I'm going to put you on hold and switch over. I'll be right back."

I put him on hold and dialed Angela's cell phone number. I waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Ang, it's Bella," I said, "but don't say anything. Don't let Mark know that you're talking to us too."

"Who is it?" I heard Mark ask.

"It's Jessica," she answered.

"Okay, I'm going to put all three of us on the same line, okay?" I asked.

"Go for it," Angela answered.

So I did. I pushed the correct button, and then we were all talking to each other.

"Ok, I'm back Mark, and this time I brought someone else to talk to us too." I said.

"Who?" Mark asked.

"Me," Angela answered mischievously.

"I thought you said you were talking to Jessica!" Mark exclaimed.

"Ooops, my bad," she giggled.

"Bella," Mark whined.

"Angela," I said, ignoring Mark, "I'd like to thank you for offering to make him keep his end of the deal. He didn't want to relay my message of thanks along."

"Not a problem," she assured me. "It's my pleasure." I could just see her grinning evilly at Mark.

"You sure have become more mischievous since we saw you last, Angela," Emmett commented.

"Living with this oaf can do that to a girl," Angela said. "He's quite the bad influence."

"You mean my hopes that you would be a good influence on him were in vain?" Rosalie asked. I was surprised that she joined in the banter, but I didn't say anything.

"His overwhelming bad influence was stronger than my good influence," Angela said in mock sadness. "I've been corrupted for life."

"Hey, I'm still listening!" Mark protested.

"Good for you," Rosalie said. "We are talking about you, after all."

"I don't like what you're saying about me," Mark informed us.

"You know what they say about eavesdroppers," I told him wickedly.

"I'm not eavesdropping on the conversation that started with me! You're the one who brought her into this conversation!"

"Get over it, you big baby," I chided. "Your wife has a right to hear the conversation too, especially when you won't relay messages."

"Bel-laaaaaaaaaa," he whined.

We all laughed. He was just too darn cute.

"Send pictures, Mark!" I reminded him between giggles. "I expect the first one in a day or two!"

I hung up then, as not to give him time to argue. Emmett and Rosalie were practically rolling on the floor they were laughing so hard, Victoria looked on the edge of tears, if we could actually cry, and even Esme was laughing hard. I would have been impressed that Mark could make everyone laugh so hard, but I recognized the hysterical edge to everyone's laughter. We were all at the point where everything was funny because we were so afraid.

Truth be told, we were absolutely terrified of what the future held for us. We didn't know who would be next, nor did we know for sure if we would ever see each other again. We were terrified of death, despite the fact that we were all living dead anyway. We had an unspoken rule that we wouldn't talk about it, and so we all kept silent, but it was times like this when I knew that we were all scared senseless. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only frightened one.

Thank goodness for phone calls to Mark.

* * *

A/N: I think there's only a few chapters left... but I'm not entirely sure. We're getting close to the end, though.

Once again, I'd like to thank all my reviewers. :) I just hit 200 reviews. :D You guys are what keeps this coming as fast as it does. Keep it up, please!

On the topic of reviews, I did have it set so I couldn't receive anonymous reviews, but I changed that, so even if you don't have an account you can still review. I know there were a few people who wanted to review but couldn't, so enjoy the freedom of being able to review now. :)

Anyway, thanks once again. :) I owe you guys a lot!

Until the next chapter,  
Addie


	20. Come With Me

"Does anyone else not really feel like fighting anymore?" I asked idly as I played with a twig that had somehow made its way into the house. I would flick it across the room, and then call it back using my power. It had been a week since they had taken Jasper, and we were all so bored that everyone was watching me play with the twig, and _had_ been watching me for the past five hours.

"Me," Rosalie answered.

"Me too," Victoria agreed.

"I just want to see Carlisle again," Esme said.

"Okay, I guess the better question would be, 'Is there anyone besides me who still wants to fight?' Because I get the feeling that you're all just ready to give up." Emmett said.

"Pretty much," Victoria agreed. "It's really rather pointless."

"Are you speaking from past experience or this experience?" Rosalie asked.

"Both," Victoria answered. "We won't win."

"We might as well just tell them to kill all of us at the same time," I sighed.

"I'm still fighting," Emmett said stubbornly.

"I don't really care anymore," Rosalie said. "We know it doesn't matter anyway. We're severely outnumbered."

"And out-talented," Esme pointed out. "The only gifts left in our family are Victoria's and Bella's."

"Neither of which do any good," Rosalie concluded.

"Victoria's could," Emmett argued.

"Don't you think that if I could confuse them I would have done it by now?" Victoria asked. "They're blocked, but I'm not sure how. This is when we need Edward to see what's happening inside their heads."

"Maybe that's why they killed Edward first," I suggested.

"We'll never know," Esme sighed.

"So who do we think is the next to go?" Rosalie asked.

"Probably me," Emmett said glumly. "I'm the only guy left."

"It won't be me," I said.

"Or me," Victoria said. "They want to torture me with all the deaths too."

"It might be me," Esme said.

"Or I suppose it could be me," Rosalie finished.

"We won't know until they come," Victoria said with a shrug.

It was silent for a while. None of us knew what to say.

"When was the last time you hunted, Bella?" Esme asked.

"The day they took Carlisle," I answered, not looking away from my twig as it flew across the room.

"You need to hunt," she told me. "The rest of us have hunted more recently than that."

"I'll get around to it," I said with a shrug. "I don't feel like leaving the house right now."

"You need to hunt tonight," she said. It was sunny, or I got the feeling she would have told me to go right then.

"I will," I promised.

But I didn't get the opportunity to hunt that night, for Rosalie was the next to disappear. We were too busy comforting Emmett and Esme for me to go anywhere. The weird thing is that we didn't even know they had been in the house until Emmett asked if we had seen Rose recently. We had all been in our rooms, and Rosalie had gone downstairs to get a magazine that she had bought. When she didn't come back in twenty minutes, Emmett went to look for her. We found a note on the couch saying that they had taken her. Emmett raced out into the sunset, but by the time we got to her ashes they were almost cold. We had been too late again.

The next day Emmett disappeared. This time there was more of a struggle, but not much. Emmett didn't want to fight anymore, and the rest of us didn't want to fight either. So we put up a halfhearted fight, only going to check the ashes out of habit rather than hope.

And so only three of us were left. Esme didn't come out of her room for two days. Victoria and I tried to coax her out, but failed miserably. She didn't talk, and didn't move.

Finally, after the second day, she came out.

"I'm going hunting," she said.

"We'll come with you," I said.

"Thank you, Bella, but I'll go alone." She gave each of us hugs and a kiss on the cheek. "I love both of you very much," she said, "and I don't ever want you to forget it."

"We won't," we promised. We knew it was the end. Esme knew, and we did too, that if she went out alone that she wouldn't return.

We were right. We smelled the smoke three hours later. Victoria and I didn't even bother going to check. It wasn't worth the effort. It had gotten to the point where we didn't care. We knew that we should grieve our family members dieing, and they deserved at least a little bit of a mourning period, but we knew that they were going to die. We were prepared for it, and that dulled the pain.

We just didn't care anymore.

* * *

"Do you think it will be painful?" I asked at one point as Victoria and I were lounging in the living room.

"Most likely."

"Do you think it will be fast or slow?"

"Slow and painful."

"Are you afraid?"

"Terrified."

"When do you think they will come?"

"I don't know," Victoria sighed, closing her eyes.

"Should I shut up?"

"Please."

"I'll be in my room."

"Fine."

I stood up and went upstairs. Once in my room I flopped down on the bed and just lay there, staring at the black ceiling.

* * *

I lost track of time. It could have been one day, or it could have been five. I wasn't sure. Nothing happened during that time anyway. The event that pulled me out of my brooding was when my bedroom door opened.

I didn't look up. I figured it was Victoria.

"My, aren't we unobservant today?" Adeliza asked.

"Go away," I said tiredly without moving. "I don't want to deal with you."

"Neither did Victoria. She came willingly a few days ago."

"Good for her."

Adeliza knelt next to my bed and started whispering in my ear. "Don't you want to come willingly? I promise to end the pain soon. It will be practically painless if you cooperate. You won't feel a thing."

"I don't care what happens," I informed her without looking away from the ceiling. "But I think you'll find I won't put up much of a struggle."

"Come with me," she whispered seductively. "Take my hand, and I'll lead you to your final destination. It will be fast. You'll get to be with Edward again."

I didn't respond.

"Come with me," she repeated. She stood up and held out her hand for me to take.

I had nothing to live for anymore. I took her hand.


	21. Lies And Someone New

"How much farther?" I whined as we ran. Adeliza hadn't relinquished her grip on my hand, though we had been running for a long time. She wasn't showing any signs of slowing.

"Only a few more miles," she told me. "Be patient."

"Where are we going?"

"Your final destination," she answered. "The end will come soon enough."

"Where will you kill me?"

"In an old warehouse," she answered in an amused tone. "I know you're anxious to see Edward again, but trust me, the end will come sooner than you want it to."

"I just want to get it over with," I sighed.

"As do I," she assured me. "You'll make a nice addition to the ranks."

"Addition to the ranks?" I questioned harshly.

"The ranks of those we have killed," she hastened to assure me, but I was suspicious.

"Here we are," she finally said, slowing near the edge of a town. It was well past dark so we could walk through the streets without worrying about the clear sky above. I looked at the stars, thinking about Edward and what he had said to me after I had helped rescue him from Volterra. I sighed, and Adeliza looked at me oddly.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"The stars remind me of my husband," I answered in a whisper.

"Then don't look up," she suggested.

"I thought I would look up this one last time," I said.

"Oh, please," she scoffed. "You're one of those types, are you? The kind that have to have everything one last time?"

"I am," I agreed.

"Well, you're walking through these doors for the last time," she said, and pulled me in a hidden doorway to an old and abandoned warehouse.

Inside it was clean enough, despite the fact that it looked like it had been either ruined by animals or trashed. It wasn't dusty. I looked around, taking in my surroundings.

"This way," Adeliza said, pulling me down a hallway.

"Why are you killing me here and you killed the others in the forest?" I asked.

"Because you're not dying immediately," she answered. "You will die soon, but you're not going to die right now. We do reserve the right to torture you a little prior to your death."

"You promised a fast end," I snapped.

"I lied," she said casually, "My bad."

She shoved me in the door to a small and dark room and closed the door behind me, sliding a deadbolt into place. I banged on the door, but it wouldn't budge. It had been reinforced with something besides the wood that it appeared to be.

I banged on the door for several moments, ending with a kick and then launching myself across the room. I wanted a fast end, not torture, so I was unhappy with the way this had progressed. I threw myself against the walls, trying to either injure myself or break something in the walls in the hopes of escaping.

Some time later, I'm not sure how long, I finally stopped. I lay in the middle of the small room and sobbed. I hadn't hunted recently, so I was growing weak, and I was tired of living. I wanted to die. I just wanted the end.

* * *

It was impossible to measure time in my prison. There was no light, so I couldn't measure it by that. I didn't have a watch, so I couldn't use that to tell me how long I had been captive. I just lay and sobbed for the entire time. 

Eventually the door to my room opened. I didn't look away from the ceiling.

"Come with me," a male voice commanded.

"Why?" I questioned.

"Because I told you to, and because we're tired of listening to you sob for days on end."

"I'm not coming," I said.

"Fine," he said. He came over and picked me up by the neck, set me on my feet, and shoved me out the door.

"I'm not going," I protested, trying to go back in my room. I didn't want to get tortured.

My escort shoved me again. I didn't care enough to struggle.

He led me to another room and pushed me inside, closing the door behind me. There were five different vampires in the room, all staring at me.

"Um, hello?" I asked.

"Isabella Cullen?" one asked.

"That would be me," I confirmed.

"We have a question for you."

"I probably have an answer," I said.

"What do you know of our club?"

"You're all stupid vampires that were bent on ruining my family's lives and killing everyone that I care about."

"What else do you know of us?"

"You're all hunters and trackers with powerful gifts, second in power only to the Volturi."

"What else?"

"You're all hot-headed and merciless."

"Are you done insulting us?"

"You asked what I knew."

"Enough," another vampire commanded. The one who had been talking to me and I fell silent.

"We wish for you to join our club," another, this time a woman, said. "You have interesting gifts. You would make an excellent addition to our ranks."

"I'm not joining the people who ruined my life," I told them.

"You are thirsty, are you not?" the first one asked, suddenly changing the subject.

"I am," I said hesitantly.

"We will let you drink if you agree to consider working for us."

"No deal."

"You will not even consider it?" one asked, staggered.

"I already know my answer is no," I said. "Considering it, no matter how long or hard I try, will not change my mind."

"You have not hunted in over three weeks," another said. "Are you not weak?"

"I'm getting there."

"Then do you not wish to hunt?"

"Not if I have to even pretend that I'll think about joining you. My answer is still no."

"You cannot go for long without feeding," the commanding one told me.

"I'll go as long as I have to. I want you to kill me anyway. It's not like I'll need strength to die."

"If you refuse to join us, we will torture you," they warned me.

"I don't care," I sighed.

Pain erupted in every inch of my body. I gasped in pain and fell to the floor, thrashing around.

There was a moment of relief, and then the pain started again. I screamed.

Finally, the pain stopped.

"That is a mere taste of what you will experience if you do not cooperate," they warned me.

"Bite me," I spat.

I was roughly pulled off the floor and thrown into a wall. I crumpled to the floor, and another vampire picked me up, throwing me across the room and into a spiked wall. I gasped in pain again.

"That's enough for one day," the commanding one declared. I was roughly picked up off the floor again and tossed into the arms of my escort. He shoved me out the door and back towards my room, picking me up off the floor every time I fell.

"I'll be back next time they want to see you," he informed me before slamming the door and plunging me into darkness once again.

* * *

The next time my door opened I was bombarded with noises. They threw a human in my cell with me, slamming the door again. I could hear the human's labored breathing, their sobbing, their heartbeat, and I could hear and smell the blood leaving a wound that the other vampires had undoubtedly given to the poor thing. 

"Who's there?" the human, a girl, demanded fearfully. "Who are you?"

"Bella," I answered quietly.

"What are you?" she demanded. "Are you like the others?" I heard her backing up until she hit the wall and couldn't back away from my voice any more.

"I'm like them to a point," I said, "But I'm not as cruel as they are. I'm their prisoner."

"They said you would eat me," she whispered, as if she were afraid of admitting that they had said that for fear of sounding crazy.

"I'm not like them," I repeated. "I don't eat humans."

"Are they cannibals?" she asked.

"No," I said with a slight laugh. "Nothing so pleasant."

"What are they?"

"You don't want to know."

"What are you?" she demanded.

"You don't want to know that either."

I think by that time she realized that I wasn't going to eat her, so she started shuffling forward in the dark, trying to find me.

"Do you know why they cut me?" she asked.

"They want me to eat you," I answered.

"But you aren't going to?" she confirmed.

"No," I answered. "I never eat humans."

"Are you a vampire?" she asked.

"How did you know?"

"I heard somebody say something about vampires before they threw me in here, and they exposed my blood in hopes that you would eat me," she said. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized what she had just said. "Does my blood tempt you too much?"

"I'm immune to the smell of human blood," I told her tiredly. "I'm not sure about the taste, but I never plan on finding out."

"Are they torturing you?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered. She found me then and sat down on my left side. She reached out and touched my arm.

"You're cold!" she exclaimed.

"I'm dead," I told her. "My heart doesn't beat and I'm not warm. I can't cry or eat real food or go out in the sunlight."

"Do you burn?"

"No, I just sparkle."

"Sleep in coffins?"

"Can't sleep at all."

"Are you okay? You sound really weak."

"I haven't fed in over a month."

"But my blood doesn't tempt you?"

"No, you're fine."

"I'm going to die," she said confidently. "If you don't kill me, then another one will."

"I won't do it," I assured her.

"I would rather that you do it than one of them. You don't deserve to be weak. If I'm going to die, then I would rather that my death benefit one of the good vampires than the evil ones."

"I'm not going to kill you," I said harshly.

She put a bloodstained finger in my mouth, surprising me. The blood was sweet, sweeter than any blood I had ever tasted before, but at the same time it was revolting. I jerked my head to the side, removing her finger from my mouth.

"I want you to take my blood," she insisted. "I don't want them to take it."

"I won't kill you," I growled.

"They gave me a knife," she warned me. "I'll slit my wrists so they can't kill me."

"Give me the knife," I commanded.

"No," she said stubbornly.

"Give. Me. The. Knife." I growled.

"No."

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Fine. Kill yourself for all I care. I can see it's pointless trying to keep you alive."

"I'll die anyway," she insisted.

"Help me up," I told her.

"Why?"

"I'm going to go knock on my door and tell the stupid guard to take you out of here. I don't want to deal with you when you realize that you really don't want to die but can't do anything about it because you slit your wrists."

She grabbed me by the arm and helped pull me up. She helped support my weight as I walked to the door.

I pounded on the door and yelled, "I'm not eating her, so you might as well take her out!"

The door opened. "We offered you food," the guard said. I was able to see the girl for the first time. She could not have been more than 12 or 13.

"I won't eat humans," I growled. "Take her away and bring me an animal, if you really want to feed me."

"I don't want to leave," she said.

"Take her away," I insisted. "I don't want to deal with her."

"Keep her," the guard said. "She can keep you company."

The door shut again, and I slumped to the floor with a groan.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly.

"Go away," I moaned. "I don't want to deal with you right now."

"Okay," she said uncertainly. She shuffled across the room and sat down in the corner.

For a short, glorious, monumental time, she was silent. But she didn't have the patience that I did, so sooner than I wanted her to, she started talking again.

"Why are you here?" she questioned.

"Why do you care?"

"You seem too nice to have pissed off these other vampires," she said. "I just wanted to know what you had done."

So I told her the whole story. And by whole, I mean whole. I started with moving to Forks and ended with feeling helpless in my prison, even with her there. I was impressed; she didn't say a single thing while I talked.

"No wonder you don't want to kill humans," she said quietly once I finished. "You don't want to let your new family down."

"I loved them very much," I agreed.

"But you just want to die now?" she asked, confused. "Why would you want to do that?"

"I don't have anything left to live for," I said with a humorless laugh.

"Change me," she said suddenly.

"What?" I asked, sure that I had heard wrong.

"Change me," she repeated. "If you change me, then we can live together. We'll both have something left to live for, then."

"You have a life outside of here, I'm sure," I said. "You have something to live for, once you escape."

"No, I don't," she said softly.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

It was her turn to be the story teller. She told me all about her life, how she had been born to an abusive father and her mother had died due to complications during labor. She lived with her father for 10 years, dealing with the abuse and her father always being drunk. She hid the bruises so no one would know, because if anyone found out then she was sure that her father would beat her harder, possibly even kill her. She had no friends at school because she was so stand-offish, and she had no siblings at home. She couldn't confide in anybody for the fear that her father would find out.

Finally, at age 10, she ran away. She wasn't sure where to go, but she ran anyway. She ended up in a homeless shelter, where her father found her two months later. He took her home and beat her again before locking her in her room for a week.

When she was finally allowed out, she ran away again, this time asking for help from the police. They sent her to a foster home where she could stay until she was old enough to live on her own.

But the people in this foster home had a strange friend, a friend who had red eyes and unnaturally pale skin. This friend kidnapped her and gave her to the club, where she had spent the last two years being held captive. The first time that she had met someone nice was when she met me.

She finished her story, and I remained silent, thinking it through.

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm thinking," I answered.

"Oh," she said.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Andria," she answered.

"That's a pretty name," I complimented her.

"My mother named me," she said sadly. "It was her last living act."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It's not your fault," she said. "I just have a rotten life. But we could help each other. Just change me, and then we'll get out somehow, and we can live together for the rest of eternity, acting like sisters."

"I can't," I said.

"Are you worried that you would drink me dry?" she asked.

"No, I can't condemn you to this life," I said. "If I change you then the club will hunt you down until they kill you. Plus, if I change you now, you'll never age. You'll always be a twelve year old girl, and I don't know anyone who wants to go through eternity as a twelve year old."

"We can run," she insisted, "and I don't care if I'm twelve. I could act like your daughter, if that would work better."

"They're trackers, they will find us."

The door opened and the guard picked me up off the floor.

"Don't leave me, Bella!" Andria cried.

"She might be back," the guard informed her. He shut the door and shoved me down the hallway, finally giving up and just carrying me when he saw that I couldn't walk.

He dropped me in the middle of the floor in the same room I had been in before, and then retreated back into the hallway.

"Have you considered our proposition?" the commanding vampire asked.

"I won't join you," I repeated.

"What if by joining us you could be with Edward again?" one asked slyly.

* * *

A/N: Dun Dun Dun! Cliffhanger! Is he really alive or is the club just trying to make Bella join them? Find out next time (maybe :P ) on I Didn't Want The End To Come!!!! 

Anyway, I have all of the chapters typed now. I'll probably be updating once a day until it's done. :)

Until the next chapter,  
Addie


	22. Will You Join Us?

My breath caught in my throat and I stared at the one that had spoken.

"What do you mean?" I finally asked.

"You heard me," she sneered.

"Is he here?" I asked hopefully.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Did you kill him or not?" I asked.

"Will you join us?"

"No."

"Then you won't find out."

"You killed him," I decided. "You're just trying to get me to join you."

"Believe what you want," she said with a shrug.

"Are you ready for more torture?" the leader asked.

"If it's that time again," I answered.

Once again, the pain started, and then the part where I got thrown around. But this time, I started seeing things.

A vampire entered the room who looked exactly like Alice. But when I looked again, she was gone. The same thing happened two more times, only instead of Alice I saw Carlisle and then Edward. I cried out for Edward, but before I could even blink he was gone again. I knew they couldn't be real. But I wasn't sure how to explain them. It couldn't be another vampire's gift, because I couldn't be made to see things using a gift. Unless maybe the vampire could create something for a few seconds before making it disappear, which would be the most logical explanation.

After the fake Edward left I laid in a heap on the floor, sobbing as hard as I could. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Will you join us?" someone whispered in my ear, but when I looked no one was nearby. I felt a touch on my shoulder, but there was no one there either.

"No," I sobbed. "No, no, no. Never, ever."

"Will you join us?" the voice asked again.

"Leave me alone!!!" I shrieked, finding the strength to stand up. "Leave me alone!!!!" I tried to run out the door, but strong arms pulled me back in the room.

"Will you join us?" the voice repeated.

"No!!!!!" I shrieked, fighting against the hold on me.

"Will you join us?"

"Leave me alone!!!!!" I yelled, still sobbing.

Everyone started whispering then, and the words, "Will you join us?" echoed around the room, surrounding me. The room started to spin, or maybe it was me, I wasn't sure. I clamped my hands over my ears and squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn't help. I could still hear the chanting, still hear the whispers as they asked me to join them.

When they threw me back in my cell several hours later I was sobbing, and I just curled into a ball in the middle of the room. Andria was sleeping in the corner, and I could smell that she had been crying. Her blood had clotted around her wound, which was good. She didn't even stir when they slammed the door.

"No, no," I kept moaning, answering the continuous question in my mind.

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

_Will you join us?_

The question never ended, never let up. The room spun, my ears felt ready to break, and yet the question never stopped. It was like it was a music track on repeat. Sometimes the question came one voice at a time, and other times it came as a round, with one voice only getting halfway through before the next voice would start.

"Stop it!!!!" I shrieked. "STOP IT!!!!!"

"What's wrong?" Andria asked groggily.

"Make it stop," I whispered.

"Bella?" she asked, slightly more awake. "You came back!"

"Make it stop," I repeated.

"Bella?" she asked worriedly, crawling over to me. "What's wrong?"

"Make it stop!" I sobbed.

"Make what stop?" she asked. "Bella, what's wrong?"

I didn't answer, so she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me close and rocking back and forth.

It was like this for a very long time. Once a day they would come take me away, bringing Andria food while I was gone. Every day they would throw me around, cause me pain, and then torture me with the sight of my dead family members before bombarding me with the whispered, "Will you join us?" Every day I would return to Andria sobbing, and she would hold me, rocking me back and forth until my sobs subsided. She would sleep once she was sure that I would be okay, and then we would start over again the next day.

Every day my strength and resolve grew weaker. It didn't look like they were going to kill me. They wanted my talent.

One day, once I was thrown in the torture room, I realized that the atmosphere was different. They seemed smug, almost as if they knew I wouldn't refuse today.

"I won't join you," I warned them before they could ask.

"We know," they answered. "But we thought we would ask once again."

"No," I said.

The usual torture began, and it ran its course. The only difference was the very end.

"We have killed Andria," they informed me before releasing me to the guard.

Sure enough, Andria was not in my room once I returned. I sobbed alone that night.

The next time they came to get me I didn't even bother answering or fighting. They knew my answer anyway.

"You want to die, do you not?" the leader of my torture sessions asked once they were done torturing me.

"Yes," I whispered.

"Then we shall grant your wish. You shall die today." He nodded to the guard, and a moment later the guard came back with someone in tow.

I had been seeing Edward in my torture sessions for so long that it didn't hurt to look at him anymore. I knew it wasn't Edward anyway. Edward was dead and had been for who knows how long. My Edward would never have the deep red eyes that this Edward look-alike had. My Edward would never glance at me emotionlessly like he didn't know me. No, this wasn't my Edward, but he sure looked an awfully lot like him.

"Edward, meet Isabella," the leader said, motioning at me. "Bella, I do believe that you already know Edward very, very well."

"That's not Edward," I whispered, somehow finding the strength to stand up once again.

"On the contrary, it _is_ Edward," he told me. "Edward was given the choice to die or work for us, and he chose the latter. He has adapted to our lifestyle very nicely." He gave Edward a pat on the shoulder, and then turned to look at me again. "Edward has been ordered to kill you. He won't fail."

"Edward," I begged, knowing that if it was my Edward that he would melt and come gather me into his arms. I thought that if it really was my Edward that he would be bluffing, biding his time until he could scoop me into his arms and carry me away, far, far away, back to our house.

But this Edward stared at me with hatred in his eyes. His eyes, which had been red moments before, were now a deep and solid black.

"We'll leave you to your tragic ending," the leader said, smirking at me. The other vampires left, locking me in the room with this Edward look-alike.

"Edward, please, it's Bella," I reminded him. "It's me, baby. It's your wife. Don't you love me anymore?"

Edward didn't say anything. He just circled me, preparing to attack.

I thought about my life while he circled. I knew that this wasn't Edward. They had managed to trick me once again, though how they had done it I wasn't sure. I thought about my Edward, and all the good times we had shared. I thought about my families, both of them. I thought about Mark and his gothic appearance, if he had actually followed through. I thought about Charlie and Renee and Phil and Andria and everyone that I had ever loved.

But mostly I thought about Edward. I hope that I would see him again soon.

I never thought that I would die this way. I never thought that my entire family would die before me, and that I would be the last one alive. I never thought that we would face an enemy so strong.

I never thought I'd actually die.

I mean, I'm a vampire, and though I'm technically dead anyway, I never thought that I would cease to exist. But that's what was happening. I was going to die, and no one could save me, because anyone who cared about me was already dead.

But despite the fact that I was going to die, I was calm. I didn't care that I was going to die. After all, everyone in my family was dead. Edward had died trying to save me. Everyone else had been killed in various ways. There was nothing left in this life for me to live for. I was actually almost grateful that I was getting killed. Life isn't worth living without my Greek god and our family by my side.

I stared into the black eyes of my killer, this Edward clone, calmly, welcoming the end. When he saw I wasn't going to fight, he snarled, and then lunged.

I closed my eyes, waiting for the pain, and then the end. I just hoped it would be quick.

I didn't want the end of my happy life with my family to come. But come it has, and I'm not afraid.

I felt the physical pain as this Edward clone tackled me, trying to tear me to pieces. I felt the emotional pain as I recognized Edward's smell. I felt the mental pain as I lost control of my gift, calling everything in the room towards me, weakening me even further than I could handle. I crumpled to the ground, motionless, as the Edward clone kept tearing at me despite the objects all flying into him. My vision started to black out. Just as my vision completely faded the pain stopped.

I knew then that the end had finally come, and I was dead.


	23. We're All Dead, Aren't We?

"Bella!" Edward screamed. "Bella! No, don't give up! Open your eyes, Bella. Please, honey, please."

I struggled to open my eyes. I would do anything for that voice. "They killed me, didn't they?" I asked. I was surprised to find that I was exhausted. If I was dead and in heaven with Edward, shouldn't I have more energy? But would Edward's eyes be red if we were in heaven? Maybe I wasn't dead after all, and this was still part of my torture. But I knew I had died…

Edward's voice stopped my thought process.

"No, I stopped in time," Edward told me.

"But you're dead," I pointed out. I saw Alice peaking over his shoulder and Carlisle in the background. "They killed all of you. So I must be dead too, and in heaven. Is it nice here?"

Edward gave a shaky laugh. "Bella, they didn't kill us. We're all alive as we can be."

"But you can't be alive, because you're all dead, and I am too." I unwillingly closed my eyes again. I wanted to keep looking at Edward, but I was too exhausted, and believe it or not, in too much pain.

"Don't leave me," Edward pleaded. "Don't give up Bella. You have to pull yourself back together."

"What?" I asked groggily, prying my eyes back open. I stared at Edward's pain etched face, trying to figure out what he was talking about and why he could be in so much pain. We were in heaven, weren't we? Shouldn't we all be happy?

"Bella, you aren't dead," Edward repeated. "None of us are. I stopped trying to kill you in time, or we would have lost you."

"You're dead," I insisted tiredly. "They killed you when they burned down the house. Then they used somebody who looked and smelled like you to kill me."

"Bella, listen to me," Carlisle said, coming to squat down next to me so I could see him. "The vampires who were hunting us had powerful gifts. We'll explain it all later, but just know that we are not dead. We were… brainwashed, I guess you could say. But the werewolves killed the vampire who brainwashed us, and we came to help you once we were free. We're all real, and we're all alive, but you're badly hurt, and we need you to focus on pulling yourself back together."

"What do you mean?" I asked. I tried to sit up, but I couldn't control my body. "Why can't I move?"

"I was trying to rip you to shreds," Edward said, his voice pained. "I managed to mostly rip off your arms and legs. They're still partially attached, though, so you can heal. But you need to try as hard as you can to heal quickly. I'm so sorry, Bella, I couldn't control myself and I was hurting you and I'm so sorry."

"But I can't move!" I told him worriedly. "What if I'm a paralyzed vampire forever?"

"You won't be," Carlisle assured me. "Your body is still trying to reattach everything properly, so you probably don't have any control over your limbs. Just concentrate on healing completely." He saw my eyes, then, and gave a startled jump. "When was the last time you hunted?" he demanded.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "Since… that day that we lost you. I'm not sure how long that's been. They had me here and tortured me for a long time."

"How long was the time between when they took him and when they captured you?" Alice asked.

"Three… three weeks, at the very least." I answered as I tried to keep my eyes open.

"They didn't feed you?" Emmett asked from somewhere else in the room. He sounded enraged.

"They offered me a human," I said. It was harder to concentrate now. I couldn't remember why I was trying to stay awake. Sleep seemed so inviting…

"Bella," Edward pleaded, "Don't close your eyes. Don't leave me. If you go to sleep, you won't keep pulling yourself together, and you won't wake up. I'll… I'll lose you forever. For real. I can't do that. You have to stay awake."

"She needs to feed if she's going to heal properly," Carlisle said softly. "But she can't feed if she can't move."

"Can I move her?" Edward asked. I couldn't help it – my eyes closed.

"I wouldn't suggest it," Carlisle answered. "Holding her in any other position would probably cause her to heal improperly. It's like a human with broken bones. We have to put the bone in a cast if it's going to heal properly and in the right position, so we have to keep her in one position so that she'll heal properly."

"I'll go try to find something for her," Emmett offered. I barely heard him.

"Bella, stay with me," Edward pleaded. I vaguely realized that he has stroking my cheek with his hand.

"I can't," I slurred.

"Hurry," Alice ordered Emmett.

"He won't find anything," I breathed. "We're in a… a… a warehouse, factory… whatever it's called… in… in the middle… middle of a… a town."

"He'll find something," Edward promised.

"Bella," Alice said suddenly, and I felt her kneeling next to me on the side that Edward wasn't on. "Talk to me."

"About what?" I asked, struggling to open my eyes.

"Anything," she answered cheerfully. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to sleep," I sighed, closing my eyes again.

"Well, you're a vampire. You can't sleep." She pried one of my eyes open, and I opened the other to glare at her. "You gave that up when you decided to marry my idiot brother over here," Alice said, nodding towards Edward. "So stay awake and talk to me about shopping."

"What about it?" I asked.

"Where do you want to shop when you're better?"

I groaned, but it sounded more like a moan of pain. Edward looked alarmed. "I don't want to shop," I told her.

"Then where do you think I'm going shopping once we're out of here?" she asked. "I haven't been shopping in at least two weeks."

"I'm sure you'll drag me to… to… to that one place." I said.

"What place?" she asked.

"That one that I hate."

"Which one is that?"

"The one… the one with all the… the…" I couldn't think of the word, so I decided to describe it. "It's pink, and it's a girl store and…"

"Victoria's Secret?" Alice asked mischievously.

"That girl has no secrets," Rosalie scoffed from across the room. "The stuff out of her store doesn't hide anything."

"That one," I told Alice. "I'm sure you'll drag me there."

"Edward would appreciate it," Alice told me.

"She's not leaving my arms for several years," Edward told her. "You're not taking her shopping for a long, long time."

"I'm back," Emmett announced. He came over to me with a dead moose in his arms.

"How did you get that here without anyone noticing?" I asked.

"It's night," Emmett answered. "Everyone is in bed."

Ten minutes later, they had somehow managed to drain most of the blood from the moose into cupful after cupful that they gave to me to drink. It was easier to concentrate, and easier to keep my eyes open by the time they were done.

"Better?" Edward asked anxiously.

I gave him a tired smile. "Yes. Thank you. Thanks to all of you."

"You're welcome, dear," Esme said. She patted my arm in a motherly fashion.

"Now, can you please explain how we're all alive?" I asked. "I promise to pay better attention this time."

"There was a vampire that could brainwash us," Edward explained. "I'm not sure how she could make us forget out pasts, but it was like we were newborns and had no memories. One minute I was getting tortured, and the next I was drinking from a human, clueless as to how I got there, or who was around me. From that day on, I drank from humans, told them everything that they wanted to know, and did whatever I was instructed. It was like I was their slave. Then suddenly I remembered everything. I was in the middle of trying to help them kill you…" he trailed off guiltily.

"It's the same for the rest of us," Rosalie offered, saving Edward from the awkward silence. "One second we were doing something, and then the next we remembered everything. We figured out fairly quickly what was happening, and that you and Victoria weren't with us, so we ran to go find you guys. We heard you screaming in pain, and we came here."

"What about Victoria?" I asked. I felt stupid for not noticing that she wasn't there before.

No one answered. They all just exchanged glances.

"She… she's dead, isn't she?" I asked timidly.

"I'm sorry," Carlisle told me. "I know how much you liked her. We didn't get to her in time. They were burning her when we arrived."

"Before or after you found me?"

"Before," Edward answered. "They found her first."

I closed my eyes, wishing I could cry, but knowing I couldn't.

"We're sorry," Jasper said. "We tried."

"I know," I sighed. I started to dry sob, and the sobs shook my body. I felt Edward gather me into his arms and cradle me, rocking me gently back and forth.

"Oh, Bella," he sighed. "Don't cry. Save your strength and heal yourself, and then you can cry. But care for yourself first."

"But they killed Victoria," I sobbed.

"Being upset won't help you heal," Rosalie said. "Cry later. Fix yourself now. Just look at the bright side – the rest of us are still fine."

"But Victoria's dead!" I cried.

"She wanted it," Edward told me softly.

"What?" I asked, startled out of my sobbing. I looked at him like he was insane, but my gaze also showed that I was begging for more information.

"It was her way of escaping," Edward told me. "She was going to leave us after this all got sorted out anyway, but she saw this as the best way to take care of it. She wanted me to tell you that she was sorry."

"How do you know?" I asked desperately.

"She thought it to me," he answered. "She knew once the werewolves killed the vampire that was brainwashing us that I would still remember what she said. She told me through her thoughts to tell you that she was sorry, but that it was all for the best. She asked that you not mourn her like you mourned me, because if you're right and she becomes an angel then she's going to come make sure that you aren't in some depressed state. If you are, then when, if, you die, she'll kick you when you're an angel too. And if she has any special powers once she's an angel, then she'll use those on you until you cheer up."

I kept quiet, thinking it over. "Is there anybody left from the club?" I asked after a moment, choosing to mope about Victoria later.

"That's why we want you to heal quickly," Carlisle said. "We're not sure how soon they'll find us."

"Wait, you said werewolves," I said.

"It appears that Mark and Angela went to spend some time in La Push so they could kick some werewolf butt," Emmett said happily. "They threatened to tell the world about the werewolves."

"That would not have made them come," I said.

"No, but once Mark and Angela started reminding them that they're supposed to be protectors, and that they were shirking in their duty, and that they were being pretty poor friends to you, and that they really did owe you for everything you've ever done for them, they came." Rosalie said.

"That still doesn't sound like enough."

"Mark threatened to burn down their houses," Jasper coughed.

I gasped. "He didn't!"

"He did. He even had the match lit and everything." Emmett said proudly.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"We told them," a familiar voice said from the doorway. I turned my head to see Jake standing in the doorway, looking sheepish.

"Jake," I said with a warm smile.

"Mark told us how upset you were," Jake said. "He said that you were pretty terrified, and that I needed to get over my stupidity and come help an old friend. He told me that you were really upset that I refused to talk to you. He said as your former husband that he could tell how desperate you were for help. He knocked us around a little, whacked us over the heads with a stick, kicked us in the butt, and shoved the plane tickets in our hand. When we found your house we could tell that it had been empty for at least a month, so we followed your trail and got here just in time, from the looks of it."

"I owe you big time," I said.

"Nah, consider it even," Jake said. "I'd rather you not be in my debt. We're friends; what true friend keeps track of his friends' debts?"

"The house had been empty for a month?" I asked.

"Yeah, it looked pretty dusty and stuff. The mail in the mailbox was dated from a month ago."

"Are all the other vampires dead? Carlisle asked.

"The rest of the pack is rounding them up now," Jake answered.

"There's trouble," Edward said softly.

"What?" Jake asked harshly.

"They're holding a human girl hostage, and your pack can't get near or the vampire who has her will kill her."

"Is it Andria?" I asked hopefully.

"Andria?" Edward asked, looking down at me.

"Let's go," I said, "I'll explain later. We have to go find her now!"

So with that Edward picked me up and we all ran to go help the human.


	24. Saving Andria

"Come a step closer and I'll bite her!" Adeliza growled when we arrived. The werewolves were already surrounding her.

"Bella!" Andria called fearfully. "Don't let her kill me!"

"Let her go," Carlisle commanded. "You're surrounded and outnumbered."

"But I have dear Isabella's friend. She won't let me kill her, will you Isabella?"

"You evil witch!" I growled from Edward's arms. I still couldn't move or I would have been across the room in an instant. But I could still use my powers…

I called Adeliza towards me as hard as I could, making the call so urgent that it was impossible to ignore or fight.

But I was so mad that my power went out of control. Adeliza, instead of walking across the room, came flying across the room, completely helpless as she hovered inches above the ground. She nearly flew into the werewolves, nearly hit Jasper, and ended up landing a foot in front of Edward and me.

"Never. Mess. With. My. Family." I growled. Emmett grabbed Adeliza and Jasper took Andria away from her. Andria clung to Jasper and Emmett handed a shocked Adeliza over to the werewolves.

"Get her out of here," Edward ordered Jasper quietly so Andria wouldn't hear. Jasper took her out, and the rest of us weren't far behind.

"Are there any more members of the club that we haven't killed?" Carlisle asked Edward and Alice.

"Not here," Edward answered. "There are some out tracking right now."

"What about the ones that were following Bella's family everywhere?" Esme asked Alice.

Alice closed her eyes. "They were the brainwashed ones too," she said. "When the werewolves killed the vampire who had control over us, it broke the control over them as well. They'll leave her family alone and go back to where they came from."

"What about me?" Andria asked quietly.

"What do you want to do?" I asked her.

"Live with you, if I can," she said softly, shyly.

"Does she know what we are?" Edward asked too quietly for her to hear.

"Yes," I answered him. "She knows." I looked back at Andria. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, honey. Not everyone in my family is immune to the smell of blood."

She looked at their red eyes and then at my topaz eyes. "I can see that," she said, "But I'm willing to take that chance. If it ends badly, then it's not like I'm losing anything."

"We're done here," Sam announced as they emerged from the room, interrupting our conversation. He refused to look at me. "We're going home."

"Thank you for coming," I told him. "I know how much of a sacrifice this was. I appreciate it."

"We all do," Carlisle said, speaking for the whole family. "We can't thank you enough."

"You're welcome," Sam said gruffly.

"If there's anything we can do for you…" Esme said, then trailed off as Sam gave her a look that said we could.

"You can do something," he said. "Get that crazy kid off our lands and keep all the matches away from him."

I laughed. "We can do that," I agreed. "I'll call him once we get home."

"By the way, Bella," Jake said nervously, as if he expected me to get mad. "Mark said to tell you that he won the bet…"

I groaned.

"Bella?" Edward asked worriedly, glancing at our siblings who knew what Jake was talking about. "You actually agreed to that?!"

I groaned again. "I'll talk him out of it."

"But you agreed to it!" Edward said. "Why would you do that?!"

"I thought I would win," I explained.

"What am I going to do with you?" Edward asked as he shook his head.

"Take me home and let me rest," I suggested. "I think that sound like the best plan."

"Am I coming with you?" Andria asked.

"Sure, little sis," Emmett said. He messed up her hair and said, "We won't leave you here."

"We'll talk about what we're going to do once we get home," Carlisle agreed.

"Home," I sighed contentedly.

"It does sound nice," Edward agreed.

And with that we all turned and headed for the exit as one big group.

* * *

A/N: Epilogue is next... 


	25. Epilogue

"Bye Bella!" Andria called as she turned around to wave at me from the front steps of the school. I waved back and Edward pulled away.

"She's so cute," I sighed.

"See if you still think that when she hits eighteen and wants to be changed immediately," Edward warned me.

"She'll still be cute," I decided.

"You're hopeless," Edward said as he shook his head.

"You think she's cute too," I told him. "Admit it."

"She is now," Edward agreed, "But I have seen children grow up. She'll get difficult."

"At least she's in a good home now," I said happily.

And a good home it was. We had moved again once I had recovered and we had a family discussion. We decided to keep Andria with us, since she wanted to be changed. If she still wanted it when she was 18, we said we would consider it.

We were in another small town in Alaska. We were all in the same grades that we had been pretending to be in while we were in the last town, with the exception of Andria. She hadn't been with us, and she hadn't been to school in two years, so she was starting 6th grade. Emse had been tutoring her at home while we waited to move, and then waited to start school. We were fairly certain that she would be fine where they had placed her. She was an intelligent girl.

We all mourned losing Victoria. Since we knew for sure this time that she was dead, we had a funeral and spread her ashes in the woods. I didn't talk to anyone for a few days, which Emmett found amusing with my new style.

Yes, that's right, I couldn't get Mark backed down from the bet. So as we were speeding towards school, I was busy applying eyeliner. I had painted my nails the night before, and I had a stick-on nose ring, since I couldn't exactly pierce anything because of my granite-hard skin. I was still wearing my gothic clothing that Alice had bought for me.

"Maybe you just shouldn't wear it," Edward suggested as we got out of the Volvo.

"No, she has to wear it," Emmett insisted as he exited Rosalie's BMW with a video camera in hand, aimed at me. "I'll tell Mark if she doesn't. I'm sending him the videos that I make."

"Emmett, I'm not letting my wife go around acting like a goth just because she lost a stupid bet," Edward groaned.

"It was her bet to lose," Emmett said, "and she lost it. So she gets to go around like this."

"It will look weird if I'm a goth and my boyfriend isn't," I pointed out.

"That's already taken care of," Alice said slyly, opening Edward's trunk. Inside were several bags of men's gothic style clothing.

"Alice," Edward whined.

"There's nail polish, stick-on studs, and eyeliner in there too," she said, "and if we hurry, we can even dye your hair black to match Bella's before school starts."

"I'm not going Goth," Edward insisted.

"Chicken!" Emmett taunted him.

"I dare you to do it," Jasper said.

"I'll second that dare," Rosalie added.

"Guys," Edward moaned.

Alice broke out in a triumphant smile when she saw that Edward had caved in. She picked up a set of clothes and the other gothic necessities and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the school. "Come on, Edward. Let's go darken your outlook on life."

"I hate you, Mark," Edward informed the camera.

"I'm sure he loves you too!" Emmett called.

I grabbed my bag and ran off after my husband and sister. After all, we never knew when eternity would end for any of us, and I figured that I might as well spend every moment possible with the people that I loved.

So that's the end of this part of my story. Perhaps there shall be more, perhaps not. You never know with vampires, and we're a pretty unpredictable group of vampires.

* * *

_No we're not._

Go away, Alice. We aren't talking about you.

_But I can predict what our family is going to do very well, thank you very much._

Alice, I didn't ask you.

_I know you didn't. But we are very predicable, so you need to change that. You might give the people that never read this the wrong idea._

Why are we carrying on this conversation by writing it all down? Why aren't we talking?

_This is more fun…_

Go away, Alice.

**What happened to spending every moment possible with the people that you loved?**

You go away too, Edward.

**Don't you love me anymore?**

Yes, but I'm trying to finish this story.

_But the story isn't finished._

_**What are we doing over here?**_

You go away too, Emmett.

_**But Bella, this looks like fun.**_

GO AWAY!!!!!

_Fine._

_**Fine.**_

**Do I have to?**

-sigh- No, Edward, you can stay.

**Good. Now, what were you saying?**

Nothing. Nothing at all.

**You're odd, Bella.**

You are too, Edward. You are too. But I still love you.

**I love you too.**

_**Get a room.**_

E**M**M**E**T**T**!!!!!!

_**Sorry.**_

I'm going to end this now before anyone can put something else.

THE END!!!!

(_or not_)

ALICE!!!!!

* * *

A/N: Final author's note and alternate ending to follow soon. Look for them in a day or two since I'll be busy for a while with school and work and other activities. 


	26. Final Author's Note

My first order of business is to say thank you to everyone who has read my stories. I love you all. :) You're an awesome group of talented writers (or readers, if you don't write :P ) and I know that's true. So don't challenge it. :P

I do have to give a special thanks to Sasha (foreverinlove17). I'm Sasha's beta, (yay!), but I think she's helped me more than I've helped her. I constantly bounce ideas off of her. She's very good at bouncing them back. (Are you good at ping pong or tennis, hun? If your idea bouncing skills are as good as your sports skills then I think I don't ever want to go up against you!) Anyway, go check her stories out; I know that they're good. :D

I also have to give a special thanks to Kiwi ("just a little wicked" at the moment, but that girl changes her pen name more often than I change the oil in my car. And that's pretty frequently, because my father is an oil changing freak). She has also been good for bouncing ideas off of. Sometimes she'll even make suggestions when I don't ask for them, but they're all pretty good anyway, so I end up using them. I think that girl's gotten more emails and messages that I've typed from my cell phone than any person should. I just couldn't forget the idea, and I had to tell someone… anyway, thanks to you too, Kiwi. XD (check her stories out too)

Thanks to everyone who's given me ideas. I tried to give credit where it was due for those instances (except Kiwi and Sasha because I used their ideas so often that I decided I would just wait for the end). Your reviews are all fun to read and good for a laugh, most of the time. Particularly when you all get really excited.

Now, on to the FAQ.

No, I'm not planning on making this into a trilogy. I may change my mind, but I'm content with just two stories. If I do decide to make this into a trilogy, then I'll explore Andria's character more. I'll add a chapter on here if I do somehow decide to add a third story.

Why am I not making this into a trilogy? There are several reasons. One is that I don't want to beat it into the ground. I've seen perfectly good series die because there was nothing left to say and they tried to say something anyway. I'm afraid I'm at that point with this story line. I'm out of surprises (at least at the moment) for this series. Another is that I have an idea for another story, one that's not connected to Moving On and I Didn't Want The End To Come. It's not fully developed yet, but it's there, and I want to play with it. I won't give any details at the moment because those details will probably change a lot between now and when (if) I post it. "I didn't want the end to come, but come it has, and I'm not afraid." :P That's right, I'm not afraid - I'm just wondering how I would continue if I chose to do so. Any ideas will be welcomed, but just because you suggest something doesn't guarantee I'll continue. You stand forewarned.

"How could you dye Edward's hair black?! How could you do that?!" Who said they did? Maybe Edward put his foot down and refused. I didn't say he agreed to that part. If I write a third story I'll address that issue.

I think I'm done with this author's note. If I don't post it soon then my cousin will probably come down to my house and tackle me (Love you, Mikki) and I don't want to get tackled. So, I'll close this up.

Thanks once again to all of you. You're all awesome. You're all the best readers a girl could ask for.

Now, go read the alternate ending (next chapter). I thought (and I know a few of you agreed) that it almost ruined the story having them all suddenly be alive after we thought they were dead, so the alternate ending is my solution to that problem. I promise it's still happy. Not quite as happy as them all living happily ever after, but it's not a huge tear jerker. You might need a Kleenex or two, but not the whole box like previous chapters required.

Ok, now I really am done.

Thanks again!

Until the next story,

Addie


	27. Alternate Ending

_**THE FOLLOWING IS AN ALTERNATE ENDING**_. This would take the place of the chapter, "We're All Dead, Aren't We?"

* * *

I'm not sure how long I was unconscious, nor how I was unconscious, because I thought that you couldn't knock vampires out, but I knew that I had been laying there, unaware of my surroundings for a long time. I felt a warm breeze blow across my face, and I felt grass underneath me, and I could feel the sun warming everything. I took a deep breath… and didn't smell everything like I usually could. I listened for anyone around me, but it seemed like my ears were plugged. It was like I was human again, and all of my senses had gone dull, back to their original state.

It occurred to me that I hadn't opened my eyes, but that I didn't mind very much. I felt content to just lay there for hours and days and years and do nothing.

I faintly heard voices, and they seemed very far away. I opened my eyes with a sigh and began to sit up.

I wasn't sparkling. My skin was back to the color it had been when I was a human. Come to think of it, my heart was beating again and I had to breathe, it wasn't just a habit anymore. I looked around to see if I recognized my surroundings. I did. It looked like the meadow that Edward and I found so special in Forks.

Had I fallen asleep? Had I dreamed the whole thing? Was that horrible nightmare just my imagination? When had I fallen asleep? Did I get knocked out when the werewolves went through the meadow, chasing after Laurent? Or did all of that happen and I was just here on another day after Edward came back? Did I marry Mark? Was Mark even real? Maybe I had just dreamed him too. Was I ever a vampire? How did I end up here? I had no memory of coming to the meadow…

No, the pain had been real. And if I was just sleeping, then Edward would be here, watching me so that he could tease me about what I had said in my sleep. I stood up and headed for the edge of the trees to see what lay beyond. I didn't trip, which was a miracle if I was still a human.

The sky caught my attention. It wasn't the blue that I was used to. It was like the sky was gone, replaced by all the stars and planets and galaxies. I stopped walking and stared in amazement, wondering if I was dreaming now. But vampires couldn't dream, because they couldn't sleep… this was all too confusing.

"Bella!" I heard Edward shout from somewhere in the trees. I ran towards the sound.

"Edward?!" I called, wondering how he was alive. Maybe the Edward clone really had been Edward, and he had actually saved me instead of ripping me to pieces. But that didn't explain how I was human again…

After running for a very long time, without tripping, might I add, I finally caught a glimpse of color in the trees ahead. I raced towards the color, hoping it was Edward. I wondered why he was so slow. Usually he would have reached me by now.

When I finally reached him, he picked me up and twirled me around. I clung to him taking in his scent, the sight of him, the softness of his skin, his warmth…

His warmth? I pulled away. He had never been warm before.

"What's wrong, Bella?" he asked. His green eyes were worried, and his voice sounded different. Not quite as musical.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"It's me, Bella. It's Edward."

"I don't believe you," I said. "This is just another trick."

"We're dead, Bella," he said. "We're both angels now. There are no more tricks."

"We're dead?" I asked.

"They killed us," he confirmed. "They killed everyone. We're all here now."

"How can I be sure?" I asked. "They tricked me so many times…"

I stepped back as Edward started to glow. It wasn't from the sunlight, because we were shaded beneath the trees. No, this light was coming from him. He sprouted wings, and I stood there gaping at him with his wings and the unnatural light.

"Do you believe me now?" he asked.

"Oh, Edward," I cried, flinging myself at him again. He caught me, and we stood there for a very long time, just holding each other.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed. I could tell it was her, even though her voice was a little different too. I pulled away from Edward just in time to get pulled into a hug by her.

One by one our family filtered though the trees and came to join us in our tiny clearing.

"You were right, Bella," Jasper told me. "We all came to heaven."

"I knew I was right," I told him with a grin. I looked at my family, taking in their new appearances.

Alice's hair had grown a little, putting the ends down by her ears. I could tell that she was going to grow it out more. Her green eyes weren't quite as vibrant as Edward's, but they were still pretty.

Jasper and Rosalie had blue eyes. Rosalie was still beautiful, though it wasn't the perfect beautiful that I had always known.

Esme, and Emmett had brown eyes, and Carlisle's were a pure blue that went well with his blond hair.

Victoria stood in the back, almost as if she was shy. Her hazel eyes were very pretty, though I couldn't see them for long because she was looking away.

"We're all here, Victoria," I told her, "even you. I told you we'd all end up here."

She looked up and gave me a little smile. "You were right," she said. "I was surprised."

I leaned on Edward and sighed happily. We were all together again.

"So what's heaven like?" I asked. "Is it as beautiful as they say it is?"

"Even more so," Carlisle told me. "It's breathtaking."

"What can we do?" I asked. "Do we just lounge around all day long, or do we have things to do that can keep us busy?"

"There are things to do," Edward told me with a smile. "The most entertaining thing to do is to watch the people who are still alive."

"We can do that?" I asked excitedly.

Edward laughed. "We can. Is there anyone in particular that you would like to watch?"

"Mark," I said instantly. "I want to see if he actually followed through with our bet."

"He didn't," Edward told me. "He actually went to the werewolves and tried to convince them to go help you so he could get out of it."

"He did what?!" I squeaked. Everyone laughed at me.

"He actually did a pretty good job," Carlisle laughed. "He had to threaten to burn down the reservation, light the match, and shove the plane tickets to Alaska in their hands before they would leave. They couldn't exactly report him to the police, because he said if they turned him in that he would tell Charlie what was happening."

"But they didn't actually come to help," I said. It wasn't a question. I already knew.

"They actually did come to help," Emmett told me. "They just didn't get there in time to save you. They're working on killing the club right now."

"Oh," I said, embarrassed at being wrong.

"Do you wish they had been sooner?" Edward asked, looking down at me. He looked like he didn't want to know the answer.

"No, because I'm with you again," I said. I kissed him on the cheek.

"About me…" Edward said. "Why did you just lay there for all that time after I died? I didn't want you to do that."

"Oh, look who's talking," I scoffed. "That's what you did when you left me the first time. You just curled into a ball and didn't do anything. You've got a lot of room to talk."

Our family laughed at Edward's flabbergasted look. He wasn't expecting me to say that.

"So what are we going to do now?" I asked.

"I'm going to take you to meet some people," Edward said.

"Who?" I asked.

"My parents," he answered with a grin. "They can't wait to meet you in person. They've been watching you ever since you met me."

"They have?" I groaned.

"Don't worry, they like you," he said. "They're glad that we found each other."

"They're very nice," Alice put in.

"You met them?" I asked her.

"Not yet," she answered with a smile.

"Then how do you know?" I asked, confused.

"Did dying mess with your memory, Bella?" she laughed. "I saw you meeting them!"

"We still have our gifts?" I asked, my eyes wide in surprise.

"You have a lot to learn about heaven," Emmett informed me with one of his full laughs.

"Let's start with meeting my parents, though," Edward suggested as he chuckled along with Emmett. "I'm sure they're tired of waiting."

So hand in hand, my eternal husband and I walked off to go face the joys and challenges of heaven together, with our family beside us.

* * *

"Are those her ashes?" Paul asked.

"I think so," Jacob answered sadly. He picked up the chain with the wedding rings on it and blew the ashes off. "That's her ring, and Edward's too."

"So we were too late," Embry commented sadly.

"We were," Sam agreed. "I hate to have to tell Mark that, though."

"What about Charlie? And Renee?" Quill asked.

"What story can we tell them?" Jacob asked.

"We can tell them the truth," Sam answered. "They deserve to know how Bella died."

"Is that what Bella would want?" Jacob asked.

A soft breeze blew through the room, kicking up ash and blowing the werewolves' hair.

"I think so," Sam said with a smile. "If a breeze in the middle of a warehouse in a room that doesn't have any ventilation isn't enough confirmation, then I'm not sure what Bella's going to do to you."

"So is this it, then?" Jared asked. "We're just going to walk away and go home so we can tell everyone what happened?"

"What else is there to do?" Sam asked. "We've already killed the other vampires."

"What about the human girl?" Embry asked.

"She knows everything about Bella and the Cullens, and a lot about us," Quill added.

"Emily and I can take care of her if she doesn't have a home to return to," Sam said. "We'll take care of her until she's old enough to take care of herself."

"I hope that Bella's parents take this okay," Paul commented as they walked out the door.

"Are you kidding?" Jake asked. "They'll be fine. I'm sure they get told all the time that their daughter is a vampire and that she got killed by another coven of vampires."

"You're right, it'll be the easiest conversation in the world," Sam said. "So we'll let you do it, Jake."

"Oh no, not me," Jake argued. "I'd hate to take all the fun. I nominate Embry."

"I thought we were friends!" Embry protested.

I smiled as I watched them leave. They would all be okay, and they would be able to tell my parents everything that they deserved to know.

* * *

Perhaps everyone in my family dying was for the best. We're all happy in heaven. We're all together. We're together for eternity, and we can see anyone that we want to, whenever we chose to look.

I didn't want the end to come, but now that it has, I must admit that I'm not too disappointed.


	28. New Story!

Yes, it's true. I'm still alive. I'm still alive, and I'm still writing. The preface for my latest story is up, and it's called, "Out Of Control." No, it is not the third story in the Moving On series. It's a completely new story, and it's set after Eclipse.

I can't guarantee that I'll update it frequently since I'm a college student now, but I will definitely update it as frequently as I am able.

Anyway, go read the preface if you want to. I would definitely like that. The first chapter will be up within the next few days.

Thanks again to everyone who reads my work! You're awesome and amazing and I love you all. :)

Addie


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